COMPASS PLANT, a native of the interior of North American prairies, which takes its name from the position as sumed by the leaves. These turn their edges approximately to north and south, thus avoiding the excessive midday heat, while getting the full benefit of the morning and evening rays. The compass plant (Silphium laciniatum), called also pilot-weed and rosin-weed, belongs to the family Compositae. Another member of the same family, Lactuca Scariola, which has been regarded as the parent species of the cultivated lettuce (L. saliva), behaves in the same way when growing in dry exposed places ; it is a native of Europe and northern Asia which has been widely intro duced into North America.