Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbekia laciniata)

Also known as: Green-headed coneflower, Wild golden glow, Sochan, Thimbleweed

I first noticed this flower on a hike in the Smoky Mountain this year and then I started noticing it everywhere, including on our farm. Our neighbor Suria said she just learned about it too and she’s been out here for over 25 years. She calls it Sochan which sounds so exotic to me. I started reading about it but I haven’t used it yet. I was excited to learn it was used for green dyes and will likely experiment with that before the end of summer. Though it’s nutritional value is nothing to sneeze at compared to kale, it has five times the manganese, twice the zinc, and more phosphorous and copper. It also contains just about as much magnesium, iron, calcium and potassium.