For Your Garden - March 2016

Native plants provide beauty as well as food and shelter for wildlife. Native species are adapted to the Illinois climate. They require little or no watering and are resistant to drought, insects and most diseases. Because they are perennials, you can welcome their presence year after year.

brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)
Photo © Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Brown-eyed Susan is found throughout Illinois in fields, woodlands and along streams. Flowering occurs from June through October. Numerous flowers are produced per plant. The petallike ray flowers are yellow and surround the cone-shaped, dark brown center. Leaves are arranged alternately on the stem. The plant may reach a height of five feet. The flowers of this plant are important to pollinator species.

Classification and taxonomy are based on Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 2014. Vascular flora of Illinois: A field guide. Fourth edition. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 536 pp.

Illinois Range

Native Plant Information

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For more information about native Illinois plants, including where to purchase them and planting guides, view the following publications at our publications page. You can access more information on the Schoolyard Habitat Action Grant page, too.