Eryngium yuccifolium - (image 1 of 7)
Taxonomy
Family: Apiaceae
Habitat
Moist or dry sandy soil of prairies, open woods, thickets.
Associates
Andropogon gerardii, Aster ericoides, Aster laevis, Comandra umbellata, Dodecatheon meadia, Euphorbia corollata, Helianthus rigidus, Heuchera richardsonii, Hypoxis hirsuta, Lespedeza capitata, Lithospermum canescens, Petalostemum purpureum, Phlox pilosa, Ratibida pinnata, Silhpium integrifolium, Silphium laciniatum, Silphium terebinthinaceum, Solidago rigida, Sporobolis heterolepsis, Stipa spartea.
Distribution
Northern VA to IN, MN, and KS south. Occasional further north.
Morphology
Perennial to 1m high from fascicled roots. Leaves linear, parallel veined, to 80 long and 2 cm wide, with spiny edges, often glaucous. Flowers in tight heads of small greenish-white florets, surrounded by larger pointed bracts. Flowering stems rigid, smooth.
Notes
Flowers early July to mid September
Wetland indicator: Facultative +
In spring, before it blooms, the resemblance to Yucca is uncanny. Can be useful as an ornamental.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of
Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Niering, W. A. 1979. The Audubon society field guide to North American
wildflowers: eastern region.
Knopf/Random House, New York.
Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
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Michael Hough © 2004 |