Silphium laciniatum

Plant Characteristics

Habit		herbaceous
Height:	⇕	5 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 5. to 10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10.
Width:	⇔	3 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 3. to 4 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 4.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Bloom:	❀	early summer, mid summer, late summer

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun, part-sun
Features:	✓	flowers, drought tolerant
USDA Zones:		4 to 9
Flower features:	❀	orange, yellow

Scientific Names

Asteraceae >

Silphium >

laciniatum >

Silphium laciniatum (Compass Flower, Compass Plant or Rosinweed) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Silphium. It is native to east-central North America.

It is a perennial herbaceous plant similar in appearance to a sunflower, growing to 1-4 m tall, with bristly-hairy stems. The leaves are alternately arranged, and deeply pinnately lobed; the basal leaves up to 40 cm long, becoming smaller higher up the stem. The flowers are produced in flowerheads (capitula) 5-12 cm diameter, with a ring of ray florets surrounding the 2-3 cm diameter center of disc florets. Flowering is in late summer, typically from July to September.

Compass plants are so named because they tend to align their foliage East-West to present the minimum surface area to the hot noon sunshine. The taproot of the compass plant may grow to more than 9-14 ft. deep, making it hardy and resistant to drought.

Read about Silphium laciniatum in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Silphium laciniatum, Linn. Compass Plant. St. about 6 ft. high, leafy at the base, much less so above, very rough: lvs. 1 ft. long or more, once or twice pinnately parted, the lobes oblong or lanceolate: fl.-heads several, sessile or short-peduncled, 2-5 in. across; rays 20-30. July-Sept. Ohio, west and south.— It is said of this species that the st.-lvs. tend to point north and south. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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