Walking up to Hickory Knolls each morning, I never cease to be struck by the abundance of beauty displayed by our native wildflowers. More than once this summer I’ve stopped to take pictures of the magnificent milkweeds, the stunning coneflowers, the St. John’s wort so irresistible to pollinators that it was positively swarming with bumblebees and honey bees.
But throughout this past month or so, one flower has grabbed my attention more than any other. It doesn’t have showy colors, nor does it grow particularly tall—well, at least as far as prairie plants are concerned. It doesn’t even have much of a fragrance—not that my paltry sense of smell can detect, anyway.
Nope, what really makes this plant stand out are its curious, globular flower heads. They sit atop long, thick stalks like so many small, fuzzy disco balls, providing contrasts in both shape and color as compared to their more typical prairie flower neighbors.
It’s only fitting that this odd plant would have an equally odd name: rattlesnake master, Eryngium yuccifolium.
Oftentimes, either the common or scientific name for a plant reveals something interesting about its past. In this case, both names are so fascinating it’s hard to choose which to describe first.
For the sake of simplicity, let’s go with alphabetical order. The genus name Eryngium is from the Greek word for “plant used to cure indigestion.” Indeed, Native American tribes as well as Europeans settling here in the New World would use various parts of the plant as treatments for various digestive disorders, including “expulsion of worms.”
The species name yuccifolium refers to the plant’s distinctly yucca-like foliage. The only weird thing about that, though, is that there is no botanical relationship at all. Yucca is a succulent and a member of the taxonomic family Asparagaceae. E. yuccifolium is a member of Apiaceae, the parsley/ carrot family. (In fact, some of the ancient concoctions derived from this plant were described as tasting like bitter carrot.)
The common name “rattlesnake master” comes from the plant’s purported ability to heal the effects of a rattlesnake bite. The story goes that an 18th Century author named James Adair conducted trading with Amerindians of various groups in the Southeast. He wrote about observing various rituals, including chewing the root of rattlesnake master, blowing upon the hands, then gaining the ability to handle rattlesnakes without consequence.
That claim has since been disproven, but other factual accounts describe the use of the dried seed heads as rattles in Native American dances. In addition, the plant’s fibers were found to be the basis of shoes and sandals recovered in a Missouri cave. This footwear, still largely intact and, better yet, considered by some to be fashionable even by today’s standards, dates back as many as 8,000 years.
There’s no doubt, E. yuccifolium is one tough customer. Supremely adapted to life on the prairie, its fibrous leaves and long taproot make the plant fairly drought resistant. Its unique profile adds interest in gardens and prairies alike.
These fine qualities, combined with its connections to music, fashion and, well, snakes, all make rattlesnake master a timely topic—not to mention a welcome component of prairie areas throughout the TriCities.
Pam Erickson Otto is the manager of nature programs and interpretive services at the Hickory Knolls Discovery Center, a facility of the St. Charles Park District. She can be reached at 630-513-4346 or potto@stcparks.org.
September 18, 2015
Rattlesnake Master
Growing to a height of 5 ft., rattlesnake master’s unique profile adds interest to gardens and prairies alike; its folklore, meanwhile, makes for interesting conversation no matter what the setting.