Black-Eyed Susan - Benefits, Uses and Side Effects

Botanical Name of Black-Eyed Susan: Rudbeckia hirta.

Other Common Names: Coneflower, brown-eyed Susan, blackiehead, yellow daisy, golden Jerusalem, brown Betty, gloriosa daisy, poorland daisy, yellow ox-eye daisy, blackeyed Susan, gloriosa daisy, hairy coneflower.

Habitat: Black-eyed Susan is native to the eastern United States but has spread to the rest of North America. This plant is the official flower of the state of Maryland.

Description: Black-eyed Susan is an upright flowering plant which can be either biennial or perennial depending on the climate it is found in. This herb belongs to the sunflower (coneflower) family or the family Asteraceae. It is a popular garden plant but can be found growing wild in fields and on roadsides. It can reach 2 to 3 feet in height or around 1 meter. The leaves are alternate and mostly basal covered by rather coarse hairs. The flowers are yellow, blooming in June to August.

Plant Parts Used: The root and sometimes the leaves.

The Black-Eyed Susan Plant
(Rudbeckia hirta)
(Click on image to enlarge)
Attribution:Wikipedia

Therapeutic Uses, Benefits and Claims of Black-Eyed Susan

• Black-eyed Susan has been used for centuries as a medicinal herb by various native North American tribes to treat a wide range of ailments and even if it is not one of the most recognized medicinal plants is still used today in modern herbal medicine.

The Herb Black-Eyed Susan
(Rudbeckia hirta)
• Recent studies indicate that extracts made from the black-eyed Susan root could be beneficial in stimulating the immune system and in that regard being even more effective than the better known medicinal plant Echinacea. Echinacea is also known as purple coneflower but despite the name these two plants are not related.
• This herb has been used to treat some of the symptoms of the common cold, usually in the form of tea or infusion made from the root.
• Black-eyed Susan root has been used traditionally as an herbal remedy to rid the body of parasitic worms. The Ojibwa, a Native American tribe also known as Chippewa, used infusions of the roots to treat worms in children. The Ojibwa also made a poultice or external wash made from this herb as a treatment for snake bites.
• This plant has diuretic properties and was used by the Native American tribes Menominee and Potawatomi to increase the flow of urine.
• A juice extracted from the roots of black eyed Susan has been used to treat earaches.
• An infusion or tea made from the roots was applied topically as an herbal remedy for minor cuts, sores, scrapes and swellings.
• Herbal remedy in the form of infusion from the roots has been used traditionally to treat dropsy.
• A yellow dye is obtained from the flowers

Dosage and Administration

To make a tea, five teaspoons of the dried root can be added to a cup of boiling water and steeped for few minutes. Black-eyed Susan tea needs to be strained to remove the irritating hairs.

Potential Side Effects and Interactions of Black-Eyed Susan

There have not been reports of side effects associated with the use of black-eyed Susan root but the seeds are poisonous and should not be used for human consumption.

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Almira Lincoln Phelps