Rattlesnake Root, White Lettuce, Prenanthes alba L., Native Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	White Rattlesnake Root	Prenanthes alba L.	Aster	Upland	Late summer to Autumn
Other names and notes	(White Lettuce). The group of plants known as Rattlesnake Roots have clusters of bell shaped flower heads, each flower around 1/2" long and usually nodding. Flowers can be whitish to cream or pinkish with purple bracts. This species grows 1 to 5 feet high, the stem is usually purplish but can have a whitish bloom. The lower leaves can be deeply lobed and triangular at the base compared to the smaller and simpler upper stem leaves. Seed has a brown fluffy pappus. The genus name Prenanthes means "drooping blossom"; the species alba is Latin for "white." The blossoms are a creamy white with a purple/cinnamon-brown calyx-like outer cover. They have a light scent. Broken stems exude a milky juice. The flowers are quite pretty and after closing remain in a cylinder shape for some time while seed forms. Get more information by clicking the "More" button below.


Above Left and Below: Plant blooms from late August. Above center - mature flowers turning to seed in early October. Above right: A magnificent multi-stemmed specimen in the Upland Garden.



Above: The lower leaves can be deeply lobed and triangular at the base compared to the smaller upper stem leaves.	Above: Flowers forming seed in early October.

Notes: This plant is indigenous to the Garden area. Eloise Butler catalogued it on May 31 1907. She also planted, in October 1911, plants she collected within Glenwood Park. It is listed on Martha Crone's 1951 census of Garden Plants. It is native to most of Minnesota except some counties in the SW quarter. There are three other species of the genus Prenanthes that are native to Minnesota that have quite similar common names. There is little in the scientific literature about the plants use but there is much lore of folk use of this plant. High on anyone’s list of plants to be prized would be one that cures diarrhea, acts as an astringent, stimulates milk flow for nursing mothers, cures snake bite and even prevents snake bite in the first place! Right here in the Prairie Garden we have such a plant .

For more details on these plants and the native lore click the "More" button .

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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