Compassing for a Compass Plant: A Search Rooted in History

As a native seed collector, it’s a little embarrassing to admit that Compass Plant seeds have never made it into my seed bank. The reason was simple: I had never seen a Compass Plant in person—something hard to confess for someone who spends so much time with native prairie plants.

Anyone who has read Aldo Leopold’s classic A Sand County Almanac will understand why this remarkable species captured my imagination. Leopold writes with such reverence that you can’t help but want to experience the plant yourself. As he notes, *“Silphium first became a personality to me when I tried to dig one up to move to my farm. It was like digging an oak sapling.”*¹ After reading that line, I knew I wanted to grow a Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum) someday.

This past autumn, after long thinking about it, I finally had my chance. I discovered what Leopold described as *“a man-high stalk of compass plant or cutleaf Silphium”*² growing—unexpectedly—in a parking lot here in Toronto. I suspect it was planted by a passionate gardener rather than a wanderer from the prairie. But Compass Plants can live up to 100 years; who knows, perhaps it was there long before the asphalt arrived.

One of the most fascinating traits of the Compass Plant is the origin of its name. Its leaves naturally align themselves on a north–south axis, a botanical adaptation known as “compassing.” This alignment helps the plant reduce moisture loss in the heat of midday while maximizing sunlight capture in the cooler morning and afternoon. It is nature’s quiet engineering at its best—efficient, elegant, and purposeful.

“Stunning” is the only word I can use to describe the plant I found—and I only saw two stalks. Its presence is almost beyond description. Leopold himself mourned what has been lost, writing, *“What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked.”*³ If even Leopold hesitated to describe its full majesty, I knew I shouldn't even try.

Instead, I invite you to discover the Compass Plant for yourself. This tall, sun-loving prairie native (Silphium laciniatum) does not tolerate shade and will not thrive in a container—it needs open sky and deep soil to show its true character. If you’re creating a sustainable, drought-resistant, wildlife-friendly garden, the Silphium genus offers other magnificent species as well, such as Prairie Dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum) and Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum). These long-lived natives bring structure, height, and a timeless prairie beauty to any landscape.

If you have the space and the sun, planting a Compass Plant might just add a little history—and a lot of wonder—to your garden.

¹ Page 48, A Sand County Almanac
² Page 45, A Sand County Almanac
³ Page 45, A Sand County Almanac