Eryngium yuccifolium A unique, textural addition to any perennial, pollinator, or cutting garden. Beloved by florists fresh or dried, Eryngium Yuccifolium, known as Rattlesnake Master, Button Eryngo, Beargrass, and Button Snake-root, got its name from early European pioneers who falsely believed the plant was an antidote for rattlesnake venom. It is an herbaceous perennial native to the open woodlands and tall grass prairies of the Central United States as well as many Eastern and Southeastern states. Despite looking like a thistle, this funky plant is actually in the carrot family (Apiaceae), as you can smell if you crush the leaves. But don’t eat it! It is a meal best left to the Eastern Black Swallowtails. Rattlesnake Master loves full sun and dry, loamy sand, but will grow in most garden soil provided it is given enough midday sun. It will self seed in optimal conditions and has deep roots which help it store water and survive dry summers. Rattlesnake Master is rabbit and deer resistant as the texture is not favorable to them. Rattlesnake master is summer flowering, May through September, and will bloom in its second to third growing season. Each stalk grows three to twenty flower heads. Plants grow to four feet. Can spread two to three feet wide. Typically grown for flowers. Perennial. 0.3 gram packet contains a minimum of 40 seeds. Small Farmer Grown by Mountain Gardens in North Carolina.
