Silphium is a genus of North American plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae.[1][2]
Members of the genus, commonly known as rosinweeds, are herbaceous perennial plants growing to 0.2 m (8 in) to more than 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) tall, with yellow (rarely white) flowerheads that resemble sunflowers. In the rosinweeds, the outer florets in the head are fertile and the inner florets are sterile;[3] in the sunflowers, the reverse is true.[4]
The name of the genus comes from the Ancient Greek word for a North African plant whose identity has been lost, though it is known its gum or juice was prized by the ancients as a medicine and a condiment.[3]
Species in the genus include:[5][3][6][7][8][9]
Silphium integrifolium (rosinweed) flowers
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Silphium laciniatum (compass plant) leaves
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Silphium perfoliatum (cup plant) flowers in Lower Saxony, Germany
Silphium terebinthinaceum (prairie dock) leaves
Numerous species are now regarded as members of the genera Berlandiera and Verbesina.[5]
Silphium is a genus of North American plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae.
Members of the genus, commonly known as rosinweeds, are herbaceous perennial plants growing to 0.2 m (8 in) to more than 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) tall, with yellow (rarely white) flowerheads that resemble sunflowers. In the rosinweeds, the outer florets in the head are fertile and the inner florets are sterile; in the sunflowers, the reverse is true.
The name of the genus comes from the Ancient Greek word for a North African plant whose identity has been lost, though it is known its gum or juice was prized by the ancients as a medicine and a condiment.
