Cutleaf Coneflower
Cutleaf coneflower is an herbaceous perennial native to parts of the U.S. and Canada with beautiful looks and uses.
Scientific Name: Rudbeckia laciniataCommon Name: Green headed coneflower, green head coneflower, wild golden glow, sochan, tall coneflower.
Plant Family: Asteraceae
Etymology: Olaus Rudbeck (1630-1702) and his son Olof Rudbeck (1660-1740) were professors at Uppsala University in Sweden. The father established the first botanical garden in Sweden. Laciniata comes from Latin meaning slashed or lacerated for the deeply cut leaves.
Traditional Uses
Both the Native Americans and the early European settlers used this plant. A root tea infusion was made for treating worms and indigestion. The flowers were used as a poultice for treating burns. This plant was sometimes rubbed upon the legs and chests of horses to boost their energy. This plant was once sold commercially as a diuretic and as a tonic for urinary catarrh and Bright’s disease. The cooked spring leaves were eaten for “good health.” The flowers were sometimes used as a green dye. This plant was one of the earliest American species to be exported to England. In 1640, this plant was growing in the garden of England’s King Charles I.
Medicinal Uses
A tea can be made from the root to treat indigestion. A poultice of the flowers is applied to burns. Extracts from the plants have been used as traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of the common cold and urinary diseases.
Edible Parts
The young leaves, shoots, and stems are all edible.
Gathering and Using
The young or dried leaves, shoots, and stems can be eaten raw or cooked. The fragrant, deeply lobed leaves have a peppery flavor and are used in herbal teas. The stems can be dried for future uses. The young stems can be eaten like celery.
Permaculture Functions and Considerations
It is edible, medicinal, perennial, native, easy to grow, and so beautiful!
Habitat
Floodplain forests, swamps, stream banks, moist thickets, meadows, slopes, naturalized areas, woodlands, and ditches.
How to Identify
It is an herbaceous perennial with yellow drooping petals and green and brown cones. The species is hermaphrodite meaning that it has both male and female organs. The flower stalks may be branched with each branch topped by a flower. The lower leaves are quite large, up to 10 inches long and deeply lobed. The leaves become smaller higher on the stem and the topmost leaves are toothed, but not lobed. Their roots are slightly woody, fibrous, and fleshy. New plants can sprout from their long rhizomes. They also may form into small patches.
Wildlife Support
A favorite of finches, chickadees, cardinals, nuthatches, and towhees. Common goldfinches and other birds will eat its seeds. Butterflies and bees are attracted to the nectar and pollen from the blooms. Lastly, this plant supports wavy-lined emerald larvae.
Additional Information
Companion plants include harebell, cardinal flower, calico aster, green dragon, wild Virginia rye, sugar maple, and river birch. Additionally, despite its edible and medicinal uses, all the parts above the ground are slightly toxic, especially to livestock. Consumption of this plant may lead to lack of coordination, dullness, listlessness, abdominal pains, increased respiration, convulsions, and even death.
Planting Considerations
It is only appropriate for large sites because it spreads rampantly by its underground stems. Cutting off the dead flowers will prolong the blooming period.
Sources
- https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=rula3
- https://arboretum.wisc.edu/content/uploads/2015/03/PI_Cut-leaf-Coneflower.pdf
- https://indiananativeplants.org/images/resources/Gordon%20Mitchell%20Articles/GM_green_headed_coneflower.pdf
- https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/butterfly-plants/rudbeckia-laciniata-cutleaf-coneflower/
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rudbeckia-laciniata/
- https://pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Rudbeckia+laciniata
- https://dsps.lib.uiowa.edu/roots/wild-golden-glow/