Attack of the Mutants!!!

I've been attacked!! By these....

I have no idea what these are. Here's the background - I have one section of yard that contains the remnants of a wildflower plot. Also, in this section, I let any flower that wishes to naturalize itself into the yard do so. It's an area full of shasta daisies, rudbeckia, galliardia, echinacea, fleabane (I do pull that) and more. I spend most of the year mowing around these flowers, then try to cut everything back in the fall went they're done blooming. It's usually very pretty, if a little untidy.

But it appears that all these composites have been up to some indiscreet love-making. And in the front yard too! Imagine!

The plant in the photo is the largest clump, but there are at least two dozen others. Here's a closeup:

I'm going to call it the black-and-blue-eyeball flower! What happened to petals?? Petals are the pretty part, and they're sorely missing from these plants. My brother figures that Darwin's theory will take over here, because no self-respecting bee is going to be attracted to such an ugly thing, without the allure of colorful petals. So he thinks they'll all just die away. I'm not so sure. Here's one more look:It's really too bad, because the plant itself is tall and sturdy. But I think I'll be pulling them all out before they can set seed. I've got enough gardening challenges as it is!

Of course, Rusty blames it all on the government!