compass plant
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Related to compass plant: rosinweed
compass plant
n.
A perennial herb (Silphium laciniatum) in the composite family, native to prairie regions of North America and having radiate yellow flower heads and erect, basal, pinnately divided leaves.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
compass plant
n
1. (Plants) Also called: rosinweed a tall plant, Silphium laciniatum, of central North America, that has yellow flowers and lower leaves that tend to align themselves at right angles to the strongest light, esp in a north-south plane: family Asteraceae (composites)
2. (Plants) any of several similar plants
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
com′pass plant`
n.
an American prairie composite plant, Silphiumlaciniatum, with yellow flower heads and large, hairy leaves that tend to lie in a north-south plane.
[1840–50]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | ![]() |
2. | compass plant - any of several plants having leaves so arranged on the axis as to indicate the cardinal points of the compass aster family, Asteraceae, Compositae, family Asteraceae, family Compositae - plants with heads composed of many florets: aster; daisy; dandelion; goldenrod; marigold; lettuces; ragweed; sunflower; thistle; zinnia composite plant, composite - considered the most highly evolved dicotyledonous plants, characterized by florets arranged in dense heads that resemble single flowers horse thistle, Lactuca scariola, Lactuca serriola, prickly lettuce - European annual wild lettuce having prickly stems; a troublesome weed in parts of United States rosinweed, Silphium laciniatum - North American perennial having a resinous odor and yellow flowers |
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