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Cox, Paul
Silphium laciniatum L.
Compassplant, Compass plant
Asteraceae (Aster Family)
USDA Symbol: SILA3
USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.
Compassplant is a tall, coarse, sunflower-like perennial, growing 3-12 ft. high. Deeply cut, hairy leaves, up to 2 ft. in length, usually orient themselves north and south to avoid the heat of the noonday sun. Scattered along the top half of the stout, sticky stem are 2-5 in. wide, yellow, radiate flowers. A tall plant bearing yellow flower heads with large, hairy-edged, green bracts; stem exudes resinous sap
Compass Plant is one of a group of tall, mostly prairie sunflowers, some with very large leaves. The common name refers to the plants deeply incised leaves, which tend to be oriented in a north-south direction. The hardened sap of this plant can be chewed like gum. Rosinweed (S. integrifolium) has opposite, very rough, stalkless, untoothed or slightly toothed leaves and is 2-5 (60-150 cm) tall. Cup Plant (S. perfoliatum) has opposite leaves that envelop its square stem, each leaf forming a cup around it. Prairie Dock (S. terebinthinaceum) has large, ovate or heart-shaped, basal leaves to 2 (60 cm) long; the sparsely leaved flower stalk sometimes reaches a height of nearly 10 (3 m). The common name refers to the north-south orientation of the leaves. The species name is related to its deeply incised leaves.
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: YellowBloom Time: Jul , Aug , Sep
Distribution
USA: AL , AR , CO , IL , IN , IA , KS , KY , LA , MI , MN , MS , MO , NE , NM , NY , ND , OH , OK , PA , SD , TN , TX , VA , WI , DCCanada: ON
Native Distribution: OH to LA, w. to e. Great Plains
Native Habitat: Prairies
USDA Native Status: L48(N), CAN(N)
Growing Conditions
Light Requirement: SunSoil Moisture: Dry
Drought Tolerance: High
Soil Description: Various well-drained soils.
Conditions Comments: Compass plant has a large, woody taproot that may reach down 15 ft. Slow-growing, long-lived, eye-catching, sunflower-like blooms. (Ontario Native Plants 2002)
Texas comments: Compass plant is slow-growing, long-lived and eye-catching with its sunflower-like blooms. It has a large, woody taproot that may reach down 15 ft.
Benefit
Use Wildlife: The large seeds are favored by birds and small mammals.Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Attracts: Birds , Butterflies
Nectar Source: yes
Propagation
Description: Most easily propagated by seed. Seedlings take 2-3 years to flower. Sow unstratified seed in spring or stratified in fall. Deep roots make division difficult.Seed Collection: Collect in Sep. and Oct.
Seed Treatment: Damp stratification (2 months at 40 degrees) and scarification.
Commercially Avail: yes
Find Seed or Plants
Find seed sources for this species at the Native Seed Network.
View propagation protocol from Native Plants Network.
From the National Organizations Directory
According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX
Bibliography
100 easy-to-grow native plants for Canadian gardens (2005) Johnson, L.; A. LeyerleGardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes (2002) Wasowski, S.
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Recommended Species Lists
Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.
View Recommended Species pageAdditional resources
USDA: Find Silphium laciniatum in USDA PlantsFNA: Find Silphium laciniatum in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Silphium laciniatum
Metadata
Record Modified: 2009-02-18Research By: TWC Staff
