Unblinking black-eyed Susans are starting to congregate in our sunny meadows, while countless orders of butter-and-eggs are being served along the woods’ edges. These are two of our most interestingly-named wildflowers.
The name for the black-eyed Susan, shown above, reportedly was inspired by an 18th Century English ballad titled “Sweet William’s Farewell to Black-Eyed Susan.” Curiously, humans don’t have black eyes. Neither do the flowers named after Susan, their eyes are dark brown and consist of hundreds of tiny disk flowers. Susans are natives.
The name for butter-and-eggs wildflowers, shown below, is more accurately descriptive for those with a little imagination. The flower has two upper yellow “lips” that arguably look like butter, while it is orange like an egg yolk at its center. These flowers were introduced from Europe hundreds of years ago and were thought to have the ability to repel bewitching curses.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 4, 2026.)