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Silphium laciniatum

Common name:	Compass Plant	Family:	Compositae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43, 200, 274
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	There is a report that the plant might be toxic[222].
Range:	Central N. America - Ohio to Minnesota, south to Alabama and Texas.
Habitat:	Prairies and glades[222]. Calcareous or sandy soils and prairies in Texas[274].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	S. laciniata[Ss]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Compass Plant [E,H,S], Compassplant [P,B], Pergelotu [E], Polar Plant [E], Rosinweed [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	laciniatum = deeply cut;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Turkey; Us

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 2m by 0.6m . It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Gum.

A resin exudes naturally from the plant, and can also be obtained by incision[4]. It is an inexpensive substitute for mastic and is used as a chewing gum to sweeten the breath[4, 61, 105, 257]. It forms on the upper part of the flowering stem[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Diuretic; Emetic; Expectorant; Tonic; Vermifuge.

The resin obtained from the plant is diuretic[4, 61, 222]. It imparts a strong aromatic odour to urine[4].
A tea made from the roots is vermifuge and a tonic for general debility[4, 61, 222]. It is used as an expectorant in coughs and other pulmonary ailments[4]. A decoction of the smaller roots has been used as an emetic[257].
A tea made from the leaves is emetic, it has also been used in the treatment of coughs, lung ailments and asthma[222].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any ordinary garden soil[1]. Prefers a deep moisture retentive moderately fertile soil that is not too nitrogen rich, in sun or dappled shade[200]. Prefers a shady position[200].
A very ornamental plant[1]. Leaves of young plants tip vertically and align themselves north to south to minimise exposure to the midday sun[200].
Plants have a deep and extensive root system which makes transplanting difficult[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring[188]. This is very difficult due to the deep and extensive root system.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Silphium laciniata (a possible synonym).

[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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