What I Learned Today – Berlandiera lyrata

Did you know there is a National Chocolate Soufflé Day?   The Colorado Native Plant Society did!  It was yesterday, in fact, and to celebrate they tweeted about Berlandiera lyrata, also known as the Chocolate Flower.  It looks like a lovely perennial, native to the west and southwest U.S. and hardy to zone 4.  Tolerates drought and likes rocky limestone soil — perfect!!!

The flowers appear to resemble a cross between Black Eye Susan and Blanketflower; the foliage also similar to Blanketflower.  The flowers open at night,  so I imagine it attracts moths and other nocturnal pollinators although its chocolatey perfume is strongest in the early morning before it gets too hot and the petals close up.

I’ll have to check out the garden centres for it in a few months (can’t find any seeds in my catalogs…) and see how it fares in our humid summer.