Eryngium yuccifolium (Rattlesnake Master)

Rattlesnake Master blooms from June until September and the flowers have a sweet honey like scent. The scent attracts many beneficial insects. Some of these include; native long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, skippers, moths, beetles, and for a lack of a better name, a variety of plant bugs.

Various butterflies (including monarchs, skippers, sulphurs and others) visit the flower heads for nectar. Soldier beetles visit the flowers to eat pollen; major pollinators include a diversity of bees, wasps, and flies. Rattlesnake Master dependent insect is the larva of A Seed-eating Moth (Coleotechnites eryngiella) is dependent on Rattlesnake Master as it feeds on its seeds. Caterpillars of the Black Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) occasionally feed on the leaves, but the caterpillars prefer other members of the carrot family (both native and introduced). In our native prairies, Rattlesnake Master contributes greatly to insect diversity.

Rattlesnake Master will grow from 2-5 ft tall on a stiff erect stem that is unbranched except at the top giving it a striking vertical look. The leaves wrap around the stem and are long and thin with prickly edges that resemble yuccas. 

It grows well on wet or dry mesic prairie soil. It is generally found in wet or dry prairies and open woods. Makes an excellent focal point in a garden.

AT A GLANCE