Compass Plant
Silphium laciniatum
Compass plant is a tallgrass-prairie icon with huge, deeply cut leaves that align north-south and a towering spire of yellow flowers over a taproot many feet deep. Goldfinches strip its seeds.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 5–9 ft
- Spacing
- 2–3 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- June, July, August
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, butterflies, songbirds
- Landscape uses
- border
- Native states
- AL, AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, NE, OH, OK, SD, TN, TX, WI