Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum ) is an impressive prairie wildflower, with yellow flowers growing on stalks that can be over 8 feet high. The flowers are similar to those of other Silphiums, like the Cup Plant, but the Compass Plants leaves are distinctive. The two-foot long, deeply cut leaves create a striking profile for this plant even without its tall flowerstalk. The leaves also give the Compass Plant its name since they tend to align on a north-south axis. Research by botanists at Iowa State provides evidence that this leaf orientation uses sunlight and water most efficiently. Deep roots (over 12 feet long [pdf]) allow the compass plant to thrive even during dry summers.
Compass Plant is listed as a Threatened species in Michigan. It is more widely distributed in the central and plains states. The plants pictured here were blooming at the Kalamazoo Nature Center's restored prairie.
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