Eryngium yuccifolium Rattlesnake Master Seed & Plants
(er-IN-gee-um  yuck-ih-FOE-lee-um)
Easyliving Native Perennial Wildflowers
Native Wild Flower Plants & Seed for Home Landscaping & Prairie Restoration

 additional rattlesnake master picture by cj    

We have Eryngium yuccifolium (Rattlesnake Master) potted plants available in, $4.00 each plus shipping
please contact us by email with your address for shipping charges on Eryngium yuccifolium Rattlesnake Master potted plants

Rattlesnake Master seed germination is improved after a pretreatment of 3 to 4  weeks of cold moist stratification or when planted outside in the fall/winter.

Native Rattlesnake Master is a unique plant occurring naturally in dry glades, prairies, open woods, and on sandy roadsides from Florida to Texas, north to New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Kansas.   Apaiceae (Parsley Family)

Rattlesnake master can be used for roadside plantings, prairie restoration, prairie landscaping, wildlife cover, and also in wildflower gardens because of its attractive appearance.

 Description

Rattlesnake master is a warm-season perennial native forb which grows well on wet or dry mesic prairie soil.  Plants grow 2 to 6 feet tall from a short, thick rootstock.  The bluish green basal leaves are up to 3 feet long and up to 1½ inches wide.  The leaves along the stem are much shorter, but they may be as wide as the basal leaves.  All the leaves are thick and parallel veined and have soft or weak prickles spaced far apart along the edges.  The leaf bases clasp the single, erect stem.  Flower heads are on stout peduncles at the tip of the stem.  Each nearly spherical flower head is from 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter and is made up of many small flowers.  Whitish bracts stick out sharply from the flowers, which gives the flower head a rough, prickly feel and appearance.  The heads have a honey-like odor and are in bloom June to September.  Individual fruits, which mature in the flower head, are less than 1/10 inch long.  The root of rattlesnake master has been used medicinally by American Indians and pioneers.  Eryngium is Greek for “prickly plant” and yuccifolium is Greek for “yucca leaves.”

Adaptation and Distribution

Rattlesnake master is found generally in wet or dry prairies and open woods in the southeast US, north to Virginia, and throughout the Midwest to Minnesota, Kansas and Texas.

 Establishment

Prepare a clean weed free seedbed by disking and harrowing or using chemical weed control.  Firm the seedbed by cultipacking.  Seedbed should be firm enough to allow seed to be planted ¼ inch deep.  For prairie restoration or diverse plantings for wildlife, rattlesnake master can be incorporated into seed mixes at a rate of 2 oz pure live seed/ac (there are 177,700 clean seeds in one pound of seed).  Use stratified seed for spring planting (May to June), and unstratified seed for a fall dormant seeding (November to March).  Apply no fertilizer the establishment year unless soil test indicates a severe deficiency of potassium and/or phosphorus.  Use no nitrogen during the establishment year as this can encourage weed competition.

 Transplants planted in spring or fall can also be used for establishing rattlesnake master on permanent sites. 

 Management

Reduce weed competition by mowing or using approved herbicides.  Burning may be appropriate where plant vigor declines or where invader species threaten native mix stands.

 Environmental Concerns

Rattlesnake master is not considered weedy or an invasive species and has not been noted spreading to adjoining areas.  Seedlings have not been noted spreading from original plantings, or if they do spread, the rate of spread is not alarming.  Rattlesnake master is self-pollinated.

The map below shows areas where native Eryngium yuccifolium Rattlesnake Master plants grow wild but it can be planted and will grow over a much wider area than shown.  USDA plant hardiness zones 3 to 9. 

Use the chart below for shipping charges on Eryngium Rattlesnake Master seeds, to order copy the order form or email questions, comments & orders to john

please contact us by email for shipping charges on Rattlesnake Master potted plants

We accept payment by check, money order, and through Paypal

The minimum seed order amount is $10, this can be a combination of different seeds.

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Easyliving Wildflowers
PO Box  522
Willow Springs,  Mo.  65793
phone-fax 417-469-2611 
john@easywildflowers.com 

Eryngium yuccifolium Rattle snake Master plant distribution map complements of USDA, NRCS. 2001. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1
  (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.