Silphium perfoliatum, Cup plant

Cup plant is an amazing native perennial. Similar in many ways to Jerusalem Artichoke, this plant grows high amounts of biomass, makes acceptable forage for animals, is one of the best spinach substitutes coming up in early spring before most anything else, and has edible sunflower like seeds.

Grown commercially in eastern Europe, in dense perennial stands, Cup plant is relatively forgotten in it’s native home.

The sap has historically been collected and from this attribute it gets it’s name silphium

The roots and I believe the first leaves are high in inulin

A Missouri selection