Question 1

True or false: Black-eyed Susans are native only to the eastern United States and cannot grow west of the Mississippi.

Accepted Answer

False. They are native to most of North America, including many western states, and are widely naturalized across the continent.

Question 2

True or false: The flower is named after the character Susan from the novel 'The Black Arrow' by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Accepted Answer

False. There's no connection to Stevenson's novel; the name predates it and likely derives from folk traditions or botanical naming.

Question 3

True or false: Black-eyed Susans are biennials, meaning they bloom only in their second year and then die.

Accepted Answer

False. Most are short-lived perennials or biennials, but many varieties can bloom in their first year and live for several years.

Question 4

True or false: Black-eyed Susans are actually a species of sunflower, not a separate genus.

Accepted Answer

True. They belong to the genus Rudbeckia, which is part of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), but they are not true sunflowers (Helianthus).

Question 5

True or false: The flower's dark center is not a single seed head but a cluster of tiny individual flowers.

Accepted Answer

True. The black center is a composite of many tiny disc florets, each capable of producing a seed, surrounded by yellow ray petals.

Question 6

True or false: The flower's scientific name Rudbeckia honors a Swedish father and son who studied botany.

Accepted Answer

True. Carl Linnaeus named it after Olof Rudbeck the Elder and Olof Rudbeck the Younger, both prominent Swedish botanists.

Question 7

True or false: The plant is named after a famous 18th-century botanist named Susan Black.

Accepted Answer

False. The name likely comes from an old English folk song or a nickname for a common flower; no botanist Susan Black exists.

Question 8

True or false: Black-eyed Susans can be toxic to livestock if eaten in large quantities.

Accepted Answer

True. They contain compounds that can cause mild poisoning in cattle and horses, leading to symptoms like drooling or stomach upset.

Black-Eyed Susan Trivia Questions