- Description:
Upright stems are tall and stiff. Leaves are rough, leathery, deeply lobed and mostly at
the base of the plant. Sunflower-like, yellow flowers are produced along the upper part of
the stem.
- Comments:
The leaves are sometimes more than 1 foot in length and grow with edges aligned in a
north-south direction, hence the common name. Another name, “rosinweed,” refers
to the gummy, resinous sap that appears when the stem is injured. When air dried, the sap
was chewed as gum by American Indians. Prairie cicadas and Silphium beetles are specialist
feeders of Compass Plant. This plant is an important range condition indicator; it is so
sought after by cattle that it is rare in grazed pastures. It is locally common in prairie
hay meadows and prairie roadsides in the eastern half of Kansas.
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