Since the name breaks down to the companion it is probably one of the other blanket flowers.

Could it be Elecampane? It is not native, but an intoduced plant.

Rhonda

rbrady, I will look into it, thank you.

Maifleur, The man is looking to order it. I am the perennial buyer for a local nursery, so I need to know exactly what it is. Likely, it is not on our availability lists, but if I can find the Latin name, at least I can let the man know and he can look at a specialty nursery.

Did the gentleman say where he saw the plant? I think there may be another part to the name but I will keep looking. My mind tells me that the name is el compania del something.

Sorry I have a rolledex of plants in my mind that I refer to.

No, he did not say. We were swamped with customers, so I got what info I could and told him I'd call him back. I wrote to Dave Culp at Sunny Border because he's got a good handle on the unusual stuff that's out there.

On a side note, we've had a tremendous increase in the amount of people coming into the nursery looking for medicinal plants (which this appears to be). The other day, i had a gentleman come in looking for a Pau D'arco (Tabebuia), which is a tropical tree. We're right outside Philadelphia. (!) I told him that it was a large tree, and he said he wanted it for the flowers for medicinal use. WTF? I don't even know what maturity the tree needs to be to yield flowers.

I get a kick out of the teens that come in to the nursery asking for Lopophora williamsii....Looking to round out your species cactus collection, huh? C'mon kid- I'm not that stupid. :)

You might want to post in the herbalism group. There are so many new gardners this year with no clue as to how things grow so the questions you are receiving will be very bewildering. I was a newby at one time but this years crop is very new. You might try Tony Advent as he has lots of sources.

Waiting until Saturday to see if my source has any suggestions.