Summary
The striking, thistle-like, creamy-white flower heads and bluish-green sword-like foliage make button snake-root (Eryngium yuccifolium) an excellent accent plant in the garden. As its Latin name suggests, the foliage looks very similar to the desert plant yucca. Button snake-root is easily grown in full sun and adaptable to any soil type that is well-drained to dry. Allow the flower clusters, borne on 2-3’ stems, to remain on the plants until October, then collect them for dried arrangements, or leave them in the garden for winter interest. As an essential element in a meadow garden, button snake-root can be grown with softer textured plants such as hair-awn muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris), purple lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis), broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus), fringed bluestar (Amsonia ciliata), and aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium). Zones 3-8.
More Details
- Sun/Shade Conditions
full-sun - Foliage Character
deciduous - Soil Moisture
average-to-dry - Flowering Period
mid-to-late-summer - Soil PH
adaptable - Flower Color
green, white - Summer Foliage Color
blue-green - Fall Foliage Color
green - Fruit/Seed Color
brown
Additional Information
USDA Plants Database, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Info, Illinois Wildflowers