For Your Garden - August 2011

Native plants provide beauty as well as food and shelter for wildlife. Native species are adapted to the Illinois climate. They require little or no watering and are resistant to drought, insects and most diseases. Because they are perennials, you can welcome their presence year after year. Consider adding a few native plant species to your garden soon!

cup-plant (Silphium perfoliatum)

Cup-plant is found throughout Illinois growing in moist areas along streams and in other moist soils. It flowers from July through October, and the yellow flowers are produced on single stems at the top of the plant. Cup-plant can grow to a height of eight feet. The leaves are large and coarsely toothed. The leaves are arranged oppositely on the stem, and the bases of these opposite leaves join around the stem to form a cup. Water does collect in the cup, and birds often drink from it.

Classification and taxonomy are based on Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 2014. Vascular flora of Illinois: A field guide. Fourth edition. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 536 pp.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae