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Asteraceae
Cup Plant
Silphium perfoliatum
Generosity, reservoir, hospitality.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Genus
- Silphium
- Native to
- Central and eastern North America
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- Herbaceous perennial
- Height
- 1.5–3 m
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade
- Soil
- Rich, moist
- Water
- Moderate to high
- Hardiness
- 4–8
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Cup plant gets its name from the way pairs of opposite leaves fuse around the square stem to form a perfect cup — a tiny reservoir that fills with rainwater after every storm.
- The leaf cups create miniature watering holes high above the ground, used by chickadees, goldfinches, and other small birds in the dry weeks of midsummer.
- Native peoples and early settlers often called the plant 'Indian gum' because the upper stems exude a chewable resin when cut.
- It can grow over 9 feet (2.7 m) in a single summer — making it one of the tallest herbaceous prairie plants in cultivation.
- Goldfinches go wild for the seeds in fall, often clinging to the spent flower heads in flocks for weeks.
Color meanings
Yellow
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