Flower for the day Rattlesnake Master 8-27-25

Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) is the rare flower whose name is much more exciting than its flower bloom. It is a perennial herb  in the parsley family and is native to our heartland tall grass prairies. The common name  is attributed to early European pioneers erroneously believing the plant to be an antidote for rattlesnake venom based upon Native Americans' various medicinal uses of the plant.

The leaves are stiff, long and narrow with a sharp tip. They are blue-ish green, and covered in a waxy coating. On the edges are regularly spaced bristles or spines.

Ball-shaped umbels of flowers are produced at the top of each stem.  Individual flowers in the umbels are small with greenish-white petals and a faint honey-like scent. Underneath each flower is a spiny green bract, and underneath each flower cluster is a small star-like rosette of spiny bracts. 

What the Rattlesnake Said

The Moon's a little prairie-dog.

He shivers through the night.

He sits upon his hill and cries

For fear that I will bite.

The Sun's a broncho.   He's afraid

Like every other thing,

And trembles morning, noon and night

Lest I should spring and sting.

Vachel Lindsay  (1913)