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Eryngium yuccifolium
Also called Rattlesnake Master, Button Snakeroot, Button Snake Root
Button eryngo is a native North American prairie perennial with spiny, blue-green, yucca-like leaves and round, button-like flower heads in summer. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil and resents wet feet and being moved once established.
Eryngium yuccifolium, known as rattlesnake master, button eryngo, and button snake-root, is a perennial herb of the parsley family native to the tallgrass prairies of central and eastern North America. It grows from Minnesota east to Ohio and south to Texas and Florida, including a few spots in Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. There are two varieties found in the wild, the northern rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium var. yuccifolium) and the southern rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium var. synchaetum).
It is sold by native plant nurseries for prairie or native meadow restoration and for gardens and landscapes. It does best with full sun and well-drained soil, with a pH range of 5–7.5. It can die from root rot if the soil stays wet or moist for too long. Once planted it is best left undisturbed and never dug up and reset as with many perennials because it develops a large taproot and other thick, fleshy roots. It often self-sows a little to a good amount in gardens. When planted from seed, a period of cold-moist stratification is required.
Eryngium yuccifolium var. yuccifolium, the northern variety, is distributed widely throughout the eastern, midwestern, and southeastern United States. It grows in pine savannas, pine flatwoods over loamy or clay soils, wet to dry prairies, olivine barrens, diabase barrens and glades, and other open sites with at least periodic moisture.
Fibers of rattlesnake master have been found as one of the primary materials used in the ancient shoe construction of midwestern Native Americans. The roots were used medicinally to treat respiratory problems, rheumatism, liver problems, induce vomiting, and treat rattlesnake bites. An infusion would be drunk to relive bladder problems and muscle pains.
Amethyst Eryngo · Field eryngo · Spiritweed · Giant sea holly · Sea-holly · Giant Sea Holly · Eryngo
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eryngium yuccifolium by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
