Black and gold—a perfect Pittsburgh flower. Black-Eyed Susan is often planted as an ornamental, but it is also native in our area, as indeed it is in much of the eastern half of the United States. This large stand was blooming in a field in South Park.
A much-hated weed, but the flowers are pretty, and the seedheads are delightful to finches.
We also have pictures of an unusual white form of Canada Thistle.
Sometimes mistaken for Queen Anne’s Lace, to which it is not related; Yarrow is a composite, meaning that each of those little flowers in the bunch is itself a head of multiple flowers. This plant was blooming in an open field in Schenley Park.
For a description of the species, see the Achillea millefolium reference page.
A common weed of lawns; it closely resembles the more spectacular Orange Hawkweed (H. aurantiacum) in everything but color. This one has many common names, some of which it shares with the orange species, including King Devil, Devil’s Paintbrush, Yellow Paintbrush, and Fox-and-Cubs. Many current botanists place both in the genus Pilosella, so that (making the adjective agree in gender) it becomes Pilosella caespitosa; but there are still arguments about that, and old Pa Pitt will stand back and let the professionals sort it out. These plants were blooming in a field near Farmington.
Philadelphia Fleabane is found in many of the same places as Common or Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus), and the two can be hard to tell apart at first glance. Philadelphia Fleabane has even more rays—usually more than a hundred per flower head—giving the heads a shaggy appearance. As we see above, Philadelphia Fleabane is also more likely to show a pink tinge or occasionally a strong pink color, but that is not a reliable indicator, since many Philadelphia Fleabanes are pure white. These plants were growing in a large patch along a street in Beechview.
This common weed can tolerate some shade, so we often see large patches of it in lightly shaded overgrown areas near parking lots or roads.
For a description of the species, see the Erigeron philadelphicus reference page
In the picture above, note how the heads in bud are nodding—hanging down—before they open.
