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Asteraceae FAMILY

Silphium terebinthinaceum

Silphium terebinthinaceum

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Silphium terebinthinaceum is a very cold-hardy plant, able to tolerate temperatures down to around -30°c when fully dormant[1]. Succeeds in any ordinary garden soil[2]. Prefers a deep moisture retentive moderately fertile soil that is not too nitrogen rich, in sun or dappled shade[1]. Succeeds in the wild or woodland garden[1]. Plants have a deep and extensive root system which makes transplanting difficult[1].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[1]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring[3]. This is very difficult due to the deep and extensive root system. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Silphium+terebinthinaceum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  4. [4]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  5. [5]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  6. [6]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  7. [7]An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada — Britton. N. L. Brown. A. · Dover Publications. New York. · 1970 · ISBN 0-486-22642-5 ↩︎Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.
  8. [8]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  9. [9]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. — Coffey. T. · Facts on File. · 1993 · ISBN 0-8160-2624-6 ↩︎A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.