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Photographer: Christopher Noll
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Family Asteraceae
Silphium laciniatum L. var. laciniatum
compass-plant
Silphium: old Greek generic name referring to resinous juice
laciniatum: Latin for "slashed or lacerated"
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| Status: | Native |
| Plant: | erect, perennial, 3'-7' tall forb; stems leafy and roughly hairy |
| Flower: | head 2 1/2"-4" wide, usually with 17-25 yellow rays 3/4"-2" long, disk 3/4"- 1 1/4" wide; inflorescence of several heads in long, narrow, branched clusters; blooms June-Sept. |
| Fruit: | dry seed with no fluffy pappus |
| Leaf: | alternate, largest to 20"; basal deeply pinnately-divided, tending to point north to south; the upper smaller and becoming entire |
| Habitat: | full sun; dry to moderate moisture; prairies; in sandy, loamy soil |
| (Glossary) |
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