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Xerophyllum tenax

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(Redirected from Beargrass)
"Bear grass" redirects here. For the different genus in the family Asparagaceae, see Nolina. For the town in the United States, see Bear Grass, North Carolina.

Xerophyllum tenax
Glacier National Park, Montana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Genus: Xerophyllum
Species:
X. tenax
Binomial name
Xerophyllum tenax
Synonyms[1]
  • Helonias tenax Pursh
  • Melanthium spicatum Walter
  • Xerophyllum douglasii S.Watson

Xerophyllum tenax is a North American species of plants in the corn lily family.[1][2] It is known by several common names, including bear grass, soap grass, quip-quip, and Indian basket grass.[3] The name "beargrass" is thought to come from its connection to both the plant's habitat and its relationship with bears. Found in the same forested and meadowed areas where bears are commonly present, beargrass thrives in environments such as the Pacific Northwest, California, and parts of the Rocky Mountains.[2][4][5] Bears are known to feed on the softer leaf bases of the plant[6], which may have influenced its name[7]. In addition to this ecological connection, beargrass is a tough, resilient plant, which could also explain its association with bears, creatures often symbolizing strength and endurance. The plant’s long, fibrous leaves are highly valued by Native Americans[8], who use them to weave baskets[9], jewelry, and other items. While it is a common myth that beargrass blooms every seven years, the plant typically blooms at irregular intervals, depending on environmental factors such as moisture and temperature[10]. Beargrass can grow to be a little over 4 feet tall when in a preferred habitat and ideal conditions such as ample sunlight.[11]

Description

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Xerophyllum tenax is a perennial herb[12] that can grow to 15–150 centimetres (6–59 inches) in height. It grows in bunches with the leaves wrapped around and extending from a small stem at ground level. The leaves are 30–100 cm (12–39+1⁄2 in) long and 2–6 millimetres (1⁄16–1⁄4 in) wide, dull olive green with toothed edges. Emerging from the tip of the stalk like an upright club, a tightly packed raceme bears slightly fragrant white flowers. These have six sepals and six stamens. The plant produces small, tan-colored seeds, which germinate after a cold period of 12 to 16 weeks.

Depending on site-specific and environmental conditions, plants may bloom every year or only once every decade, though back-to-back blooming of individual plants is rare.[11]

Distribution and habitat

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The plant is found mostly in western North America from British Columbia south to California and east to Wyoming, in subalpine meadows and coastal mountains, and also on low ground in the California coastal fog belt as far south as Monterey County. It is common on the Olympic Peninsula and in the Cascades, northern Sierra Nevada and Rockies.[4][5][2]

The species typically grows in forest understories, with its growth closely influenced by light availability often dictated by canopy density. Beargrass flowers in tall racemes that are primarily pollinated by large-bodied insects like bees, which are attracted by the plant's floral characteristics.[13] The density and vigor of beargrass tends to be more robust in areas with moderate to low canopy cover, where light penetration is greater.[14][15] In denser, shaded forests, the plant tends to be smaller and less productive.[14] Light availability and historical stand disturbances play key roles in determining the morphology and reproductive success of beargrass, with plants growing larger and reproducing more in open, disturbed habitats.[16] Depending on conditions such as moisture and temperatures it periodically blooms in large concentrations.[10]

One study found that smoke-water significantly increased the germination rates of beargrass seeds compared to controls. These results indicate that smoke-water could be an effective tool for promoting beargrass regeneration, particularly in low-elevation sites with altered fire regimes.[17]

Ecology

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Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, US

X. tenax is an important part of the fire ecology of regions where it is native. It has rhizomes which survive fire that clears dead and dying plant matter from the surface of the ground. The plant thrives with periodic burns and is often the first plant to sprout in a scorched area.[This paragraph needs citation(s)]

Deer and elk eat the flowers and other parts of the plant.[18] Bears eat the softer leaf bases.[6]

Uses

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The fibrous leaves, which turn white as they dry, are tough, durable, and easily dyed and manipulated into tight waterproof weaves.[8] Native Americans have woven the plant in baskets,[9] including the Hupa, who use it to create a border pattern.[19][8] Native Americans historically roasted the rootstock for food;[9] they also ate the pods, which are good cooked.[18] Native Americans also braid dried leaves and adorn them on traditional buckskin dresses and jewelry.[20][8]

In culture

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It is a common myth that beargrass blooms every seven years.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Xerophyllum tenax (Pursh) Nutt". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Xerophyllum tenax Calflora". www.calflora.org. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  3. ^ NRCS. "Xerophyllum tenax". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
  4. ^ a b "Xerophyllum tenax in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  5. ^ a b "Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map". bonap.net.
  6. ^ a b Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-4930-3633-2. OCLC 1073035766.
  7. ^ Schmid, Rudolf; Moerman, Daniel E. (November 1998). "Native American Ethnobotany". Taxon. 47 (4): 980. doi:10.2307/1224232. ISSN 0040-0262.
  8. ^ a b c d "Xerophyllum tenax Indian Basket Grass, Common beargrass PFAF Plant Database". pfaf.org. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  9. ^ a b c Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 553. ISBN 0-394-73127-1.
  10. ^ a b c "Beargrass Blooming Bountifully in the Flathead". 11 July 2019. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  11. ^ a b "Beargrass". US National Park Service. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  12. ^ "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  13. ^ Vance, Nan C.; Bernhardt, Peter; Edens, Retha M. (December 2004). "Pollination and seed production in Xerophyllum tenax (Melanthiaceae) in the Cascade Range of central Oregon". American Journal of Botany. 91 (12): 2060–2068. doi:10.3732/ajb.91.12.2060. ISSN 0002-9122.
  14. ^ a b Blatner, Keith; Higgins, Stewart; Kerns, Becky K.; Worthington, Alexis (2004-04-01). "Relationship Between Xerophyllum tenax and Canopy Density in the Southern Cascades of Washington". Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 19 (2): 82–87. doi:10.1093/wjaf/19.2.82. ISSN 0885-6095.
  15. ^ Peter, David H.; Harrington, Timothy B.; Thompson, Mark (September 2017). "Effects of the Light Environment and Stand History on Beargrass ( Xerophyllum tenax ) Morphology and Demography". Northwest Science. 91 (4): 367–382. doi:10.3955/046.091.0406. ISSN 0029-344X.
  16. ^ Peter, David; Shebitz, Daniela (December 2006). "Historic Anthropogenically Maintained Bear Grass Savannas of the Southeastern Olympic Peninsula". Restoration Ecology. 14 (4): 605–615. doi:10.1111/j.1526-100X.2006.00172.x. ISSN 1061-2971.
  17. ^ Shebitz, Daniela J.; Ewing, Kern; Gutierrez, Jorge (April 2009). "Preliminary observations of using smoke-water to increase low-elevation beargrass ( Xerophyllum tenax ) germination". Native Plants Journal. 10 (1): 13–20. doi:10.2979/NPJ.2009.10.1.13. ISSN 1522-8339.
  18. ^ a b Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 4.
  19. ^ Murphey, Edith Van Allen 1990 Indian Uses of Native Plants. Glenwood, Ill. Meyerbooks. Originally published in 1959 (p. 2)
  20. ^ Campbell, Paul Douglas 1999 Survival Skills of Native California. Gibbs Smith (p. 209)
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