Flora of North America species comparison

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Silphium laciniatum

compass plant
Habit Plants scapiform, (40–)100–300 cm; taprooted.
Stems

terete, hirsute, hispid, or scabrous.
Leaves

basal persistent, petiolate or sessile;

cauline petiolate or sessile;

blades lanceolate, linear, ovate, or rhombic, 4–60 × 1–30 cm, usually (proximal) 1–2-pinnately lobed, bases attenuate to truncate, ultimate margins unevenly toothed or entire, apices acute, faces hirsute, hispid, or scabrous.
Ray florets

27–38;

corollas yellow.
Disc florets

100–275;

corollas yellow.
Phyllaries

25–45 in 2–3 series, outer reflexed or appressed, apices acuminate to caudate, abaxial faces hispid to scabrous, ± stipitate-glandular.
Cypselae

10–18 × 6–12 mm;

pappi 1–3 mm.
2n

= 14.

Silphium laciniatum
Phenology Flowering summer–early fall.
Habitat Prairies, open, disturbed sites
Elevation 50–600 m (200–2000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MI; MN; MO; MS; NE; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; SD; TN; TX; WI; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 78.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Ecliptinae > Silphium
Sibling taxa
S. albiflorum, S. asteriscus, S. brachiatum, S. compositum, S. glutinosum, S. integrifolium, S. mohrii, S. perfoliatum, S. radula, S. terebinthinaceum, S. wasiotense
Synonyms S. laciniatum var. robinsonii
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 919. (1753)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

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