Benefits of growing rattlesnake master in our gardens.

Morning folks. I wanna find out how do rattlesnake master plants benefit wildlife gardens in this present age. What role do it play in prairie ecosystems and how it aid wildlife in terms of food? Do it have any medicinal benefit to this day? Please show me some more historic proof of any medicinal use by Native Americans and early settlers from the centuries. Have a good day!

Thank you for bringing this plant to our attention.

I had heard of rattlesnake master plants though I was not sure what they looked like.

Of course, the name “rattlesnake master” prompts all kinds of suggestions as to potential medical uses. The best documented use, made by John Adair during the 1700s, describes the use of the plant’s sap as a preventative to snakebite, used during ceremonial handling of rattlesnakes. The sap and roots were also used to treat a wide variety of maladies and as a diuretic. The Mesquakies used it in their ceremonial rattlesnake dance and used the roots to treat rattlesnake bites.

In the prairie or in the garden, rattlesnake master is a favorite of native insects. Monarch butterflies, skippers, and other butterflies visit the flower heads for nectar. Soldier beetles visit the flowers to eat pollen; major pollinators include a diversity of bees, wasps, and flies.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/Eryngium-yuccifolium.shtml


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Morning folks. I just had one rattlesnake growing in my area right now and it flowered. Any ways we could produce more rattlesnake master each year?

It seems that this plant is a perennial  so you might be able to take cuttings and propagate from the existing plant. If you find it difficult to get the cuttings started, try some rooting hormone or willow water (smash up some willow stems and leave it in water for a day or so, then use this to root the cutting).

How did Native Americans use rattlesnake master for medicine or tea? Are there any steps we take to ensure the plant become an important source of medicine?