Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Silphium compositum var. compositum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Silphium at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
S. compositum was used by Native Americans to produce a chewing gum from the dried sap of the roots (Austin, 2004). Read more at the Wellcome Collection.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Silphium compositum var. compositum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Silphium compositum
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-54-002a:
Silphium compositum var. compositum FAMILY Asteraceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Silphium orae
COMMON NAME:
Carolina Rosinweed, Compassplant, Rhubarb-leaved Rosinweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm191222_2361_s_composit
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm200422_4030
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm200422_4031
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm060528_004
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Leaves deeply lobed or dissected, glabous on both surfaces, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm060528_005
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm200530_5401
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210516_0339
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow s000528_a
May Greenville County SC
Petioles and midribs may be green or red, per All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999).
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_10216398182323199
June
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_s_compositum_7_s
June
)
JK Marlow jkm220702_8839
July Oconee County SC
Is this some kind of a gall?
)
JK Marlow jkm220702_8849
July Oconee County SC
More galls?
)
Carrie Hannah Penn chp_s_compositum_flower
August DeKalb County GA
Stone Mountain Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0408k_01
August Oconee County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm120812_408
August Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm120812_419
August Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm120812_436
August Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm120812_444
August Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Silphium disc flowers have undivided styles (vs. Helianthus forked), per www.missouriplants.com
)
JK Marlow jkm120812_472
August Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Stem 1-4m tall, leafy only toward the base or stem leaves very much reduced, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm130824_660
August Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_silphium_compositum
August
)
JK Marlow jkm080914_003
September Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Heads with 6-12 ray flowers; involucres mostly 1.0-1.5cm wide, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm080914_004
September Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Bracts wide, acute or obtuse, glabrous, ciliate or erose, usually squarrose, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
involucral bracts of Silphium
)
JK Marlow jkm080914_005
September Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0310b_30
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm231024_6179
October Oconee County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Silphium compositum var. compositum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Silphium compositum var. compositum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Silphium compositum
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-54-002a:
Silphium compositum var. compositum
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Silphium orae
1385
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Longleaf pine sandhills, other xeric forests and woodlands, roadbanks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Rays: Yellow
Disc: Yellow
Flower heads with 6-12 ray flowers, notched at apex
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers functionally staminate/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p259
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p172?
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p306
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p114
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p326
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p377?
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p199?
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p057
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".