Blue Jay's Picks, Tansy, Black Eyed Susans, Cone Flowers

Her choices total twelve plants.

Next on Blue Jay’s list is Tansy (tanacetum vulgare). The dye results are of golds and yellows.

It has surprised me (second time today) that Tansy by that name isn’t all that advertised as a seed or plant, and, Meet the Natives didn’t list it. It does show up on a Montana State University as a weed. “Common tansy, an aromatic perennial with a long history of medicinal use, has become a problem weed in pastures and along roadsides, fence lines and stream banks.” (My thanks to Ron LeCain and Roger Sheley.) So, hikes, rides and drives will do for harvest of Tansy.

There is also the possibility of using as a supply, Southwest Botanicals. They sell Tansy as an herbal supplement, dried, at less than $13 per pound, not including shipping.

Black-eyed Susan’s (Rudbeckia fulgida) was Blue Jay’s next choice. It results in deep golds from the leaves and stems and rich browns from the flowers in full bloom. Again there are relatives of the Black-eyed Susan mentioned by RB in the Rocky Mountain region. Meet the Natives, M. Walter Pesman, has illustrated the Black-eyed Susan as Rudbeckia hirta. This is a variation that RB mentions.


Two versions that RB doesn’t comment on are the Tall Cone Flower (Rudbeckia laciniata) and the Naked Cone Flower (Rudbeckia occidentalis). The hirta variety is found in Aspen groves, but also along our own Rock Island Trail. The two Coneflowers, Tall and Naked, are to be found along stream banks. So, hikes, rides and drives will do for gathering samples. I’m thinking that this picture shows the Tall Coneflower in dried state at the end of our street.

I’ll have to summarize Blue Jay’s Picks along with some of my own, with details on how we’ll go about getting them. I’d really recommend looking these up on either the USDA or Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The links are in the right margin at the bottom.