VMC Native Garden Perennial
Eryngium yuccifolium
Rattlesnake Master
Light: Full Sun
Water: Average
Soil: Medium to Dry
Hardiness Zones: 3 – 8
Height: 4 – 5 ft
Spacing: 24 – 36 in
Bloom Times: June – September
Bloom Color: White
Garden Use: Attention-getting, architectural plant that can be grown in a wide variety of soils. Strong visual structure and contrast when paired with large, native grasses like Panicum virgatum. Strong upright stems are topped with long-blooming and unusual flower heads.
Benefits: Easy to grow and low-maintenance. Can be grown in a wide range of soils, drought-tolerant, pollution-tolerant and deer and rabbit resistant. Attracts many different pollinators. Striking display and conversation starter. North Carolina Botanical Garden 2016 NC Wildflower of the Year.
©j van cise photos
Q U I C K T I P S
The common name of Eryngium yuccifolium, Rattlesnake Master, comes from early European colonizers who mistakenly thought that this American native plant was an antidote to rattlesnake bites. Though it was used for medicinal purposes by the native peoples, it was not helpful for snake bites.
Eryngium yuccifolium (Rattlesnake Master) has delightful Yucca-like basal foliage that covers the ground in a circular habit. Strong, very tall stems rise up from the center of the foliage to yield oval-shaped flower heads that pollinators love. These long-flowering blooms will delight all through the warmer months and then becoming striking seed heads in the winter landscape.