Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium ‘Prairie Moon’)

Features and Characteristics

Eryngium yuccifolium, commonly called rattlesnake-master or button snake-root, is a Missouri native plant which occurs in rocky woods, prairies and glades throughout the State and was a common plant of the tallgrass prairie. Most members of the parsley/carrot family (Apiaceae) have finely cut foliage and flowers in domed umbels. Not so with rattlesnake-master which features basal rosettes of parallel-veined, bristly-edged, sword-shaped, medium green leaves (to 3′ long) resembling those of yucca (lily family) and tiny, stemless, greenish-white flowers tightly packed into globular, 1″ diameter heads resembling thistles (composite family). Flower heads appear in branched clusters at the top of smooth stiff stems typically rising to 3-4′ (less frequently to 5-6′) tall from the centers of the rosettes. Flower heads are subtended by whitish, pointed bracts. The blooms are attractive to butterflies and other insect pollinators.

Genus name comes from an ancient Greek name used by Theophrastus for a plant which grew in Greece (probably Eryngium campestre) or is a Greek reference to the prickly or spiny nature of plants in this genus.

Specific epithet is in reference to leaves that look like Yucca.

Common name is in reference to a former use of this plant as a treatment for rattlesnake bite.

‘Prairie Moon’ was introduced in 2013 by Intrinsic Perennial Gardens of Hebron, Illinois. It was selected for its shorter height and decreased tendency to flop. Its spherical clusters of greenish white flowers mature into brown seed heads that provide winter interest. Its foliage is thinner and bluer than the species. ‘Prairie Moon’ grows 3 to 5 ft. tall and 2 to 3 ft. wide.