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Update 6/11/2017: Here is the last picture. Since nobody responded after I added 2 pics nearly a week ago, I am answering my own question.

Update 6/5/2017: My friend took more pics today! I have added two up top, and am hoping for a more specific ID, please. She said that it is a deep red in there under the yellow petals (if petal is the right word for it). Thank you, all. My original post is below.

My friend has been trying to ID this volunteer plant for months, now. She lives in Ventura, CA. She raises butterflies, and is very environmentally conscious, and helpful to all. But, it is not a host plant for anything that she knows of, and none of the butterfly/moth sites could ID it. Yet, something kept eating it down nearly to the ground. So...she eventually put Diatomaceous Earth on it just so that it could grow enough for ID. She sent me these pics, and the white substance is from the DE sticking to the fuzzy leaves. Thanks for any help. lol I am in VA on the other side of the country, and am clueless about this one. enter image description heremystery flowermystery flower 2

UPDATED: Added pictures with buds. 5/28/2017enter image description hereenter image description here

volunteer plant enter image description herer.com/8ZBYS.jpg

Mystery plant with buds Mystery plant with buds 2

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Ninety-Five percent sure it's a form of Fleabane (Erigeron annuus), it's in the daisy family, and I let it grow on the margins of my property. It's considered a weed, the public flower garden I weed has a ton of this in the spring.

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  • @CloneZero- Thank you. She will let us know when it flowers, and send a pic. I also have fleabane in my yard. But, it is a different type. The leaves are much narrower.
    – Diane
    Commented May 26, 2017 at 16:16
  • @CloneZero - how can you tell that it's Erigeron annuus at this point? Please understand, I'm not disputing you but curious how you could tell since there are MANY species in the Erigeron genus. (Unless you've dealt with this as a weed before, in which case it becomes much easier!) --- At first look, I thought it might be Centaurea montana but clicking on the first pic, I see the leaves are finely notched which C. montana aren't.
    – Jude
    Commented May 26, 2017 at 20:14
  • @Jude- I added a couple of her pics above. They have buds now. If you see a deleted comment in your inbox, it is because I didn't know to edit my comment for content, so I just deleted it. My apologies. I did not realize that my friend with this plant has only seen Fleabane pictures for comparison. I thought that she meant that she had seen other Fleabane plants in person. I did not want to misquote her or cause confusion for others by leaving my other comment there. Hope these pics help with the ID.
    – Diane
    Commented May 29, 2017 at 5:55
  • @CloneZero- I added a couple of her pics, now that it has buds. I "Liked" your answer as soon as you posted it. But, I am looking forward to pics of the blooms. That will be so much easier than trying to scroll through every plant in the Fleabane family. lol
    – Diane
    Commented May 29, 2017 at 6:47
  • @Jude and Clone Zero. I added two more pics. Does that help to narrow it down, any?
    – Diane
    Commented Jun 6, 2017 at 0:17
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Since nobody offered other suggestions after I added 2 more pictures of the flower buds 6 days ago, I will now answer my own question. One flower is now fully open. This is Black-Eyed Susan. "Rudbeckia hirta", in the aster family (Asteraceae).

These pictures are from this website: http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/be_susanx.htm enter image description here enter image description here

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