We went to Carter's this year to collect seeds for Shirley Meniece & Seed Share. We also held back a few seeds knowing that we would be continuing within the hort committee with our own seed propagation.
One of the plants that we collected seeds from is the Cup plant or Silphium perfoliatum. This is a wonderful native plant. A herbaceous perennial, zones 3-9, 4-8' in height with yellow blooms from July to September. It will take full sun in medium to wet soil and is a butterfly and bird attractor. Perfect! Links that describe the plant are on the Missouri Botanical Garden site and additional descriptions can be found on the Illinois Wildflower Site. Although listed as a prairie plant, this plant will grow in West Virginia.
Cup plant is an imposing, attractive plant with perfoliate leaves. It will form a dense cover if happy and is a great bird habitat. In addition it attracts long-tongued bees and many butterflies, including skippers.
What does perfoliate mean? From free dictionary.com comes this definition: a leaf with the base united around--and apparently pierced by--the stem with a simple leaf (a leaf that is not divided into parts). Nature has designed this stem so that it holds water in the leaf where it joins the stem. A vey unique element.
|Perfoliate leaf from the Missouri|
Botanical Garden site referenced above.
And, you can get an idea of the size
of cup plant from this photo. Big!