Eryngium yuccifolium (Native)

Habitat: Woodlands, barrens, clearings, and flatwoods over mafic and calcareous rocks, as well as on acidic, alternately wet-and-dry clay soils; in wet-mesic prairies along small-river floodplains in Augusta County. Rare in all Virginia physiographic provinces, with few extant sites.

Wildlife Value: Attracts pollinator insects including wasps, flies, bees, and butterflies like monarchs and skippers. Soldier beetles eat the pollen. The rattlesnake master stem-borer moth (Papaipema eryngii) uses the plant as a larval host.

Note: Leaves end in stiff spines that could be unpleasant if planted near a walkway.