Raymone's Plant du Jour - Silphium laciniatum - compass plant

Jeez Louise! Why'd you dang Druids take my protective fence down? The Odocoileus virginiana have most et me up. Mercy! Hep me, hep me.

That's a good question Crumby. Why did you take its fence down and leave it down so long?

I wanted to see if it could survive without any protection, Rayetta.

Hmmm. Well enough is enough. You put its fence back up right now Crumby Ovate. Go get its protective fence this instant.

Yes, Lovely Druidess Rayetta.

Thank ye, thank ye Lovely Druidess Rayetta. Ye have saved me, saved me from the ferocious herbivores.

You are most welcome, Silphium laciniatum. Crumby will go get you a protective fence right now. Shame on Crumby.

Yepper, shame on Crumby. It's been terrible, terrible I tell you, Lovely Druidess Rayetta, they eat on me most every night.

There, there. You'll be safe now. Crumby, don't hurt yourself with that concrete reinforcement protective fencing material.

I have the situation under control Rayetta. There now if I can just get it unrolled and untangled. This dang stuff is a Potential Safety Topic - Environmental Hazard, fer sure. Ouch! All righty then, take that and that and that. There now, it's assumed the position. Help me put it around the Silphium laciniatum, Rayetta.

All righty then. Move it that way Crumby. No, that way. No, back that way some. There, that's better. Now you're all safe again, Silphium laciniatum.

Praise the Goddess. Thank ye sooooooo much fer savin' me, Lovely Druidess Rayetta.

You are most welcome.
_____

Silphium laciniatum is not generally found in these parts. There may be a goodly amount of it up in north Texas, or off east, still, but that's problematic. So far as we know, this is the only one in Travis County. Crumby found this one, oddly enough, in Kerr County and brought it home because it was fixing to get murdered.

What's left of the leaves on this one, when the picture was taken, are oriented in an exact north-south plane, hence the vulgar reference to compass. If the north star is not espy-able one can orient ones German equatorial telescope mount by simply pointing the polar alignment scope at the leaves of Silphium laciniatum when they are turned sidewise.