Native cup plant spotted thriving in a Wisconsin yard
iNaturalist: mark_horn
Native Plants
If you're planting a pollinator patch, cup plant's water-catching leaf cups double as tiny bird baths and its towering yellow blooms pull in bees and butterflies all summer long.
Someone out walking in Greenfield, Wisconsin spotted a cup plant, a native prairie flower that can grow taller than a person, and logged it on iNaturalist where experts confirmed the identification. It's called a cup plant because its leaves fuse around the stem to form little cups that hold rainwater, which birds and insects use for drinking.
Key Findings
Observation confirmed as research-grade on iNaturalist, meaning the identification has been verified by the community
Location documented as Greenfield, Wisconsin, USA
Species is Silphium perfoliatum, a native tallgrass prairie perennial in the sunflower family
chevron_right Technical Summary
A citizen scientist logged a verified sighting of cup plant, a tall native prairie flower, growing in Greenfield, Wisconsin. The observation adds another confirmed data point to public records tracking where this native species is thriving.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) observed in Greenfield, WI, USA
Research-grade observation of cup plant in Greenfield, WI, USA.
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
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Silphium perfoliatum, the cup plant or cup-plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern and central North America. It is an erect herbaceous perennial with triangular toothed leaves, and daisy-like yellow composite flower heads in summer.