Tag Archives: cut-leaf coneflower

Bouncing Back

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large-flowered leafcup

Interrupting my series on astery things and butterflies for a quick update on the Potomac Gorge, where I went this past Tuesday. After all the flooding, many plants are coming back. They aren’t as tall as they normally would be at this time of year, and some of them are just starting to bloom or bud up, a month or two late.

On the riverbanks, large-flowered leafcup (Smallanthus uvedalia) and cut-leaved coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) are blooming. A few New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis) are also growing, looking short but with lots of buds.

cut-leaved coneflower

Right by the water’s edge, a few halberd-leaved rosemallow (Hibiscus laevis) are up, at about one-third of their mature height. I found one just starting to form buds; in other years, these plants started blooming in mid July.

buttonbush

In one place I saw an exceptionally short and shrubby-looking buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) with a few flower heads just formed, one with buds that will open any day now. In this area they usually start blooming in late June or early July.

woodland sunflower

Inland where there wasn’t any flooding, some of the typical mid-to-late summer bloomers are starting: two species of thoroughworts (Eupatorium) and goldenrods (Solidago) with buds just about to burst.

Starry campion (Silene stellata) and woodland sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus) are in full bloom. There were just a few blooms left on a stand of St. Andrew’s cross (Hypericum hypericoides).

cranefly orchid

And much to my delight, cranefly orchid (Tipularia discolor) is out.

Flower of the Day: Tall Coneflower

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aka cut-leaf coneflower; Rudbeckia laciniata; Asteraceae (aster family)

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In August the Potomac downstream of Carderock is lined with tall flowering plants by the thousands.  Halberd-leaved rose mallow (fotd 8/7) is still going strong, though starting to wane, while thin-leaf sunflower (fotd 8/19), tall coneflower, and large-flowered leafcup (come back tomorrow to read about that one) are dominating the view.  And I do mean dominating, as these plants can grow to eight feet in height, and tend to form large colonies through rooting.

Flowers in the aster family (formerly known as the composite family, Compositae) are fascinating.   What appear to be petals are actually individual flowers, known as rays; the central portion of the head is comprised of individual disc flowers.  In some composite family flowers, like the Eupatorium species I wrote about last week, only disc flowers are present.  In others, like rattlesnake weed (fotd 5/31) and hairy hawkweed (come back the day after tomorrow), there are only ray flowers.

The coneflowers (Rudbeckia and Echinacea species) are easily distinguished from the sunflowers (Helianthus species, and many others) by the reflexed ray flowers and the more-or-less spherical shape of the disc.

There are 22 species of Rudbeckia in the US, four of which are found in this area, including Maryland’s state flower, the black-eyed Susan (R. hirta).  Tall coneflower is threatened in Rhode Island.