Silphium (genus)

This article is about the plant genus. For the extinct ancient plant, see Silphium.

Silphium
Silphium integrifolium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Subfamily:	Asteroideae
Tribe:	Heliantheae
Subtribe:	Engelmanniinae
Genus:	Silphium L.
Type species
Silphium asteriscus L.

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

Species in the genus include:[5][3][6][7][8][9]

• Silphium albiflorum A.Gray – white rosinweed – TX
• Silphium asteriscus L. – starry rosinweed – TX OK LA AR MO IL IN KY TN AL MS GA FL SC NC VA WV OH MD PA NY
• Silphium brachiatum Gatt. – Cumberland rosinweed – TN AL GA
• Silphium compositum Michx. – kidneyleaf rosinweed – TN AL GA FL SC NC VA WV
• Silphium glutinosum J.R. Allison AL
• Silphium integrifolium Michx. – wholeleaf rosinweed – NM TX LA OK AR MO KS CO WY SD NE IA IL IN KY TN MS AL WI MI MA ONT
• Silphium laciniatum L. – compassplant – NM TX LA OK AR MO KS CO SD NE MN IA IL IN KY TN MS AL WI MI VA PA NY ONT
• Silphium laeve Hook.
• Silphium mohrii Small – Mohr's rosinweed – TN AL GA
• Silphium perfoliatum L. – cup plant – NM TX LA OK AR MO KS CO SD ND NE MN IA IL INKY TN MS AL WI MI NC VA DE PA NY NJ CT RI MA VT NH ME ONT QUE NB
• Silphium perplexum J.R.Allison – Old Cahaba rosinweed – AL
• Silphium pinnatifidum Elliott – Cutleaf prairie dock – AL GA KY TN
• Silphium radula Nutt. – roughstem rosinweed – KS MO AR OK TX LA
• Silphium terebinthinaceum Jacq. – prairie rosinweed, prairie dock – IA MO AR MS AL GA SC NC VA WV TN KY OH IN IL WI MI NY ONT
• Silphium ternatum Sessé & Moc. – Mexico
• Silphium trifoliatum L. – whorled rosinweed – AL GA IN KY MD NC SC OH PA VA WV
• Silphium wasiotense M.Medley – Appalachian rosinweed – KY TN

• 
  Silphium integrifolium (rosinweed) flowers
• 
  Silphium laciniatum (compass plant) leaves
• 
  Silphium perfoliatum (cup plant) flowers in Lower Saxony, Germany
• 
  Silphium terebinthinaceum (prairie dock) leaves

Formerly included

Numerous species are now regarded as members of the genera Berlandiera and Verbesina.[5]

See also

• Genus Calycadenia – the western rosinweeds

References

1. Linnaeus, Carl (1753). Species Plantarum (in Latin). Vol. 2. pp. 919–920.
2. "Silphium L.". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
3. Clevinger, Jennifer A. "Silphium". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2008-06-24 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
4. Schilling, Edward E. (2006). "Helianthus". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 21. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
5. Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist Archived 2014-11-06 at archive.today
6. International Organization for Plant Information (IOPI). "Plant Name Search". International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
7. NRCS. "Silphium". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2008-06-24.
8. "Silphium". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
9. "Silphium". County-level distribution maps from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.

External links

• NRCS. "Silphium". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).