Meanings
nouncompass plant (plural compass plants)
plural compass plants · alternative compassplant
- Any of several plants, the leaves of which become oriented to the morning sun:
- Lactuca serriola, native to Europe, widely introduced to temperate regions.
- Silphium laciniatum, native to eastern North America.
- Wyethia angustifolia, California compass plant, native to western North America.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounNorth American annual with red or rose-colored flowers
Similar
prairie bird's-foot trefoilprairie lotusprairie trefoilLotus americanus
nounany of several plants having leaves so arranged on the axis as to indicate the cardinal points of the compass
Similar
compass flower
Broader
compositecomposite plant
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Finnish piikkisalaatti, liuskakompassikukka
- piikkisalaattiLactuca serriola
- liuskakompassikukkaSilphium laciniatum
Polish sałata kompasowa, rożnik wrębolistny
- sałata kompasowaLactuca serriola
- rożnik wrębolistnySilphium laciniatum
- wiesiołek szerokolistnyWyethia angustifolia
Turkish yabani marul, yağ marulu
- yabani marulLactuca serriola
- yağ maruluLactuca serriola
Cite this entry
APA
compass plant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/compass%20plant
MLA
“compass plant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/compass%20plant. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “compass plant,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/compass%20plant.
Source: compass plant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.