DAY 180 (2 OCTOBER) – Coneflowers (Rudbeckia fulgida) (Farnham)
Some plants look most interesting on the turn. These coneflowers (or black-eyed Susans) are a bit bright and uniform for my taste in summer – but I love the drying, dark purple flower heads and curling petals among the surviving yellow ones.
They’re named after Olof Rudbeck and his father Olaus Rudbeck, both professors of botany at Uppsala in the late 17th, early 18th centuries. Olaus founded Sweden’s first botanic garden. Skal, Olaus!
