Rattlesnake Master is an extraordinary native prairie plant with yucca-like, blue-green spiny leaves arranged in a basal rosette and sending up 3–5 foot stems bearing spherical, spiky, silvery-white flower heads that bloom in midsummer. Despite belonging to the carrot family, its appearance is unlike any other member of that family. Indigenous peoples used the roots medicinally as a rattlesnake bite remedy. It is a dramatic architectural accent plant for dry, sunny native gardens.
Habitat
Found in dry to moist prairies, open woodlands, and roadsides across the eastern and central United States.
Diet
Spherical flower heads attract a remarkable diversity of wasps, bees, and flies; specialist bee species feed on it.
How common
Uncommon
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