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Prairie Dock

Silphium terebinthinaceum

Found in mafic or calcareous glades, barrens, woodlands, prairies, and roadsides and powerline-rights-of-ways with remnant historical vegetation of those types. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

53
Strong

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height
4–10 feet
Spread
1–3 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
July to September

Recorded in 9 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 5

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Catoosa County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Prairies and grasslands

Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County
Limestone prairie. Shown: Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 75 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Silphium

  • Eucosma giganteanaGiant Eucosma
  • Papaipema baptisiaeWild Indigo Borer, Indigo Stem Borer
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
36BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Silphium

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
7Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Silphium

  • Dianthidium curvatum
  • Dieunomia heteropoda
  • Megachile parallela
  • Melissodes dentiventris
  • Melissodes vernoniae
  • Melissodes wheeleri
  • Paranthidium jugatorium
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Flies 1
  • Systoechus vulgaris

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 1
  • Sphex procera

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Adult butterflies / moths · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–8b
Flower color
Yellow

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG4G5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources