Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

There are 4 members of the genus Berlandiera in our Native Plant Database. We'll tell you what we can find out about each and maybe you can use that to track down some more information. The genus is named for French-Swiss physician Jean-Louis Berlandier (1805-1851) who collected plants in Texas and northern Mexico. The "greeneyes" common name refers to the green center of the blossoms. We tried to find out more detail about the Florida Greeneyes, but all 4 species seem to be very ordinary little yellow flowers that bloom a long time, and don't bother anybody. We found no information that any of them had ever been considered for medicinal uses. I don't guess that counts as "cool," does it? But we did try.

Berlandiera betonicifolia (Texas greeneyes) - blooms yellow April to November, native to Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

Berlandiera lyrata (Chocolate daisy) - blooms yellow April to November, native to Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Conditions Comments: This flower smells like chocolate! On warm days it will fill the air with fragrance. In rich soil with extra water, the plant may fall over but it will send up branchlets along the stem which will produce more flowers. In a meadow, it can be mowed in early summer after the first wave of blooms. It will bloom year round in warm weather.

Berlandiera pumila (Soft greeneyes) - blooms yellow April to October, native to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Okalhoma, South Carolina, Florida

 Berlandiera subacaulis (Florida greeneyes) - endemic to Florida, growing natively nowhere else, also native to Volusia County on the upper eastern coast of Florida.  Blooms red, yellow January to December. From Florida Wildflowers Florida Greeneyes.