MEET A PRAIRIE PLANT:
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| Introducing Silphium laciniatum commonly known as Compass Plant. Compass Plant can grow up to 12 feet tall. It's extremely drought tolerant as its taproot has been measured to be as long as 15 feet, and it's also reported to live a hundred years under ideal conditions. One will find this plant in the tallgrass prairie region where soils are rich and black. Each stalk may contain up to about 30 flowers that resemble wild sunflowers in size and appearance. |
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| The leaves of Compass Plant have an exotic appearance and grow to a height around 2feet. They are rough and have deeply pinnated lobes much like ferns. It supposedly received its common name from its tendency to orientate its leaves in a north-south direction. Curious, but from what we've seen, its definitely not alway true. Little critters are always munching down on these leaves. |
With all these Silphiums in bloom, some of the Blooming Prairie team members are really excited. These plants have such amazing presence out on the prairie, and we're not the only ones who have recognized their beauty. Aldo Leopoldo, an ecologist, environmentalist and writer born in Iowa who spent his adult life in Wisconsin, wrote in his famous A Sand County Almanac entitled July: "What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." August has come, and Silphium seed will be ready for harvest soon!
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