Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 January 1893 — The Compass Plant. [ARTICLE]

The Compass Plant.

On the Western prairie is found what is called the compass plant, which is of great value to travelers. The long leaves at the base of its stem are placed, not flat as in plants generally, but in a vertical position, and present their edges north and south. The peculiar propensity of the plant is attributed to the fact that both surfaces of its leaves display an equal receptivity for light, whereas “the upper surfaces of the leaves of most plants are more sensitive to light than the lower; the leaves thus assume a vertical position, and Jioint north and south. Travelers on dark nights are said to feel the edges of-the leaves to ascertain the point of the compass.