Rattlesnake Master

Rattlesnake master is a native prairie perennial that looks like a yucca wandered into a meadow. Stiff, sword-shaped blue-green leaves edged with soft bristles rise from a basal rosette, and tall stalks carry spherical greenish-white flower heads from midsummer into early fall. Eryngium yuccifolium grows 3 to 5 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide in full sun, hardy from Zone 3 through Zone 9.

The flower heads draw an unusual range of insects: small native bees, wasps, moths, and flies rather than the butterflies and bumblebees that visit most prairie plants. Xerces lists it as being of special value to native bees. It is also the only host plant for the rattlesnake master stem-borer moth, a rare specialist that cannot complete its life cycle without it.

The seedheads dry to a warm brown and stand through winter, holding their shape under snow. It self-sows freely, so cut the heads off after bloom if you want it to stay put.

This grows wild in tallgrass prairie, glades, and open rocky ground, so it wants full sun and well-drained soil. It puts down a deep taproot, which makes it drought-proof once established and difficult to move afterward. Rich ground makes it flop. Deer and rabbits leave it alone.