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Project Noah Nature School
Silphium laciniatum
The compass flower is a perennial herbaceous plant similar in appearance to a sunflower. Its stems are covered in bristly-hairs and its alternately arranged leaves are deeply pinnately lobed. It is a North American native found growing in the middle of the continent. See a distribution map here http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symb... "Compass plants are so named because they tend to align their foliage North - South to present the minimum surface area to the hot noon sunshine."
Spotted along an urban nature trail. (S. Creek Greenway Trail)
Spotted on Jul 3, 2012
Submitted on Jul 6, 2012
