Compass Plant Silphium laciniatum

Aldo Leopold talks about this plant (or another Silphium) growing in an old graveyard. A remnant of long gone prairie, he says ‘What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of buffalo is a question never again to be answered’. I won’t say what happens to his Silphium….

Have room for this one. Its rosette of coarse leaves gives way to a towering flowering stem, up to 7-8’ tall. It’s worth having as it doesn’t spread, stays in its lane, and will outlive your family.