Do you recognize this plant ? Looks like a sunflower , veracious ? But it ’s not .
If you like opine games , quick , Player One ! Put your surmisal in the comment section below — BEFORE you learn further ! excess acknowledgment for genus and species .
Here ’s a hint : if you had been an other settler cut across the prairies of the midsection of the U.S. , you would no doubt have been familiar with the plants of this genus : thesilphiums . I would in all probability still be unwitting of it had I not participated in a neighborhood plant interchange about 10 age ago . Incidentally , a flora exchange is a fun and free way to larn plants , and you just might want to host one yourself . At this picky plant exchange , I take home a plant I did n’t agnize , and the neighbor who bestow it was sorry but she no longer remembered where or how she had obtained it , except that it had been a passalong plant to her as well .
That single plant soon grew into a rich colony , and its exculpated yellow sunflower - similar blooms lasted for foresightful period of time in summertime and lighten up a large region that had been an empty plot of land of very skimpy stiff ( I waver to use the wordsoilin touch to this expanse of red concrete ) . I loved it , but I did n’t know its name ; neither did my neighbor . Research on this plant became a bit of an obsession , and now I ’m confident that it isSilphium integrifolium , commonly call tarweed . Thus commence my kinship with thesilphiums .
You may have read about the ancient plant named silphion ( notice the difference in spelling ) , which the ancients used medicinally for a diversity of purposes , including birthing control and as an aphrodisiac . That works was probable a relation of fennel and may now be extinct . In any outcome , that ’s NOT the genus Silphium we ’re talking about here ; hope you ’re not disappointed .
The silphiums are natives of North America . accord to the USDA Plants Database , there are 19 species in the genussilphium . The four specie we ’ll focus on here — the more coarse one — are rosinweed , compass plant , prairie dock , and cup plant . Keep in judgement that all four are sometimes collocate together under the term rosinweeds due to the viscous resin they exudate when halt are wound . All of these silphiums have helianthus - alike blossoms atop tall stems . They seem to be immune to most pestis and diseases and are adaptable to most situations so long as they get plenteousness of sun . sacrifice these characteristic , it ’s not surprising that they are capable of take over a garden . My silphiums have generally been debar by deer , but now and then I see evidence of browsing .
Silphiumsare pollinator magnets , attracting a wide variety of insects and native bees . For this ground alone , these plants would be suitable of consideration , even if they lacked those prominent yellowish blossom atop their giant stems .
genus Silphium Integrifolium(rosinweed , whole leafage rosinweed )
All silphiums are tall , butS. integrifoliumis the shortest of the lot at 2 - 6′. Still it seems like an architectural giant in my garden . The Blandy Experimental Farm operated by UVA has this plant in its meadow , and its site states that it “ plausibly came in with hayfield seed ” and that it ’s a “ midwestern specie . ” It may not be aboriginal to Virginia , but since our conditions in recent old age has see - saw from one extremum to another , perhaps a plant that ’s conform to the extremum of the Midwestern prairies is just what ’s needed .
Silphium integrifoliumhas been identified as a “ problem problem solver ” flora for erosion control by the Missouri Botanical Garden , and also one of three silphiums recommended for “ prairie gardens ” and dry hayfield gardens . I indorse that , but I would also note that my tarweed — like many , apparently — has a tendency to fall flat after reaching its full height . I find out this to be another secret ; perhaps you have a clue ; if so , please let me have sex .
Silphium perfoliatum(cup plant )
The cup industrial plant — a Virginia native — does indeed have a cupful - like lineament , and it can actually contain rainwater , a characteristic appreciated by hummingbirds . Another feature article is its substantial stem , around which the folio converge to organise the cup . Those stems reach peak of 4 - 8′. It acquire best in full Lord’s Day with pie-eyed to moderate wet . Because it has a pat theme , it does not transplant well except when quite untested .
This mintage prefers a moist soil . In its aboriginal habitat , Silphium perfoliatumis found in damp area , such as along prairie streams and ponds , though it can obviously tolerate clay . I ’d hump to grow this one , but my garden are teetotal , not moist . Here ’s what the Missouri Botanical Garden has to say about garden utilization for this works :
“ A large plant life that want lots of place . Some gardener find out loving cup plant to be too large and weedy for boundary line ass , but others find it to be an effective background for other perennials . Adapts well to prairie , wild flower / aboriginal plant gardens , naturalised areas or moist , undefendable woodland expanse including flow / pool edges . ”
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=g650 .
Silphium laciniatum(compass plant life )
The compass works ’s leaves have a northward - south orientation course , so it does indeed officiate like a compass ! In fact , early settlers cross the plains used it as a ambit . There ’s a biologic understanding for this : the industrial plant ’s leaves arrange themselves north and in the south to avoid the heat of the sun at midday . The leaves are very deeply divided ; thus , the species name , which is Latin for “ charge into segmentation ” or “ slashed . ” The flower blossom only on the upper share of the plant and it ranges in height from 6 - 8′.
genus Silphium terebinthinaceum(prairie wharf )
Prairie dock has multiple flower headland on scanty prow , with leave almost entirely at the base , an unusual silhouette for asilphium . The leaves are large , triangular - shaped , with a heart - shaped bag , and bombastic uncouth tooth . Those marvelous , leafless stems can reach as in high spirits as 10 feet . Because of its unusual large leaves , thissilphiumhas been send for the hosta of the prairie .
In the pic below , the large basal leaves are prominent on a magnanimous swath of prairie dock that is not yet bloom . The metal money name , terebinthinaceum , means “ like turpentine , ” probably a reference to its resinous succus . Prairie dock is usually found in limestone prairie of the central plains . It can be boring to found due to its taproot and may not blossom until the second or third year .
AreSilphiumsa good idea for your G ?
These prairie natives have so many likable trait — they ’re adaptable , easy to acquire natives not bothered by disease and pests and they are a boon to many native bees and other pollinators . But some gardeners regard them to be bully .
As mentioned antecedently , Silphiumscan be strong-growing broadcaster . Sometimes that can be a secure thing , like when you ’ve got a enceinte expanse you ’d like to fill . But it might be too much of a respectable thing , which is what ’s happening in New England , wheresilphium perfoliatumhas spread into natural areas and advertise out aboriginal New England plant .
Silphium perfoliatumis native to large areas of North America — from southerly Ontario through the mid - westerly and southeastern United States . It was seemingly by design planted in New England as a “ aboriginal ” of North America , but it now has a itemisation in the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England.www.eddmaps.org/Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health/ U. of Georgia . There seems to be a cautionary tale here .
As much as I have a go at it my gum plant , I would have to say thatSilphiumsare probably not the ideal candidate for every garden . examine it in a removed area of your yard or use it in a meadow garden or for erosion ascendance , where its colonizing tendencies are welcome . And if you have an expanse that can only be line as red concrete , bring it on !
source :
Silphium Plant Profile , USDA , Natural Resources Conservation Service , https://plants.usda.gov / core / profile?symbol = SILPH
“ The Four Silphiums , ” admirer of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden , https://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org / pages / gentian / newarticles / foursilphiums.html
“ Silphiums : Four Pillars in the Tallgrass Prairie , ” Dyck Arboretum , http://dyckarboretum.org / silphiums - four - column - tallgrass - prairie/
University of Illinois Extension , http://extension.illinois.edu / hortanswers / PlantDetail.cfm?PlantID=878&PlantTypeID=14
Silphium perfoliatum , PlantFinder , http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org / PlantFinder / PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode = g650
Silphium terebinthinaceum , PlantFinder , http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org / PlantFinder / PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode = f590
genus Silphium integrifolium , PlantFinder , http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org / PlantFinder / PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=277469&isprofile=0 &
Silphium laciniatum , PlantFinder , http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org / PlantFinder / PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode = f580
