{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Redirect|Bear grass|the different genus in the family Asparagaceae|Nolina|the town in the United States|Bear Grass, North Carolina}} {{Speciesbox |image = Xerophyllum tenax - Glacier National Park.jpg |image_caption = Glacier National Park, Montana |genus = Xerophyllum (plant) |species = tenax |authority = (Pursh) Nutt.<ref name=y/> |synonyms_ref = <ref name=y>{{Cite POWO|id=1013593-2 |title=''Xerophyllum tenax'' (Pursh) Nutt.|access-date=7 December 2024}}</ref> |synonyms = * ''Helonias tenax'' <small>Pursh</small> * ''Melanthium spicatum'' <small>Walter</small> * ''Xerophyllum douglasii'' <small>S.Watson</small> }}
'''''Xerophyllum tenax''''' is a species of plants in the corn lily family.<ref name=y/><ref name="u">{{Cite web |title=Xerophyllum tenax Calflora |url=https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=8368 |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=www.calflora.org}}</ref> It is known by several common names, including '''bear grass''', '''soap grass''', '''quip-quip''', and '''Indian basket grass'''.<ref>{{Cite PLANTS|symbol=XETE | taxon=Xerophyllum tenax}}</ref> Beargrass can grow to be a little over {{Convert|4|ft|order=flip}} tall when in a preferred habitat and ideal conditions. The plant typically blooms at irregular intervals, depending on environmental factors such as moisture and temperature.
The plant is found in the same forested and meadowed areas where bears are commonly present. It thrives in environments such as the Pacific Northwest, California, and parts of the Rocky Mountains. Bears are known to feed on the softer leaf bases of the plant, which may have influenced its common name. The rootstock and pods were cooked and eaten by Native Americans, who also used the long, fibrous leaves for weaving.
== Description == ''Xerophyllum tenax'' is a perennial herb<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin|url=https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=XETE|access-date=2021-12-07|website=www.wildflower.org}}</ref> that can grow to {{Convert|15–150|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} in height. It can grow to be a little over {{Convert|4|ft|order=flip}} tall when in a preferred habitat and ideal conditions such as ample sunlight.<ref name=":6" /> It grows in bunches with the leaves wrapped around and extending from a small stem at ground level. The leaves are {{Convert|30–100|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}} long, {{Convert|2–6|mm|frac=16}} wide, and dull olive green with toothed edges.
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.<ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref name=":6">{{cite web |title=Beargrass |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/beargrass.htm |access-date=2022-07-05 |publisher=US National Park Service}}</ref>
== Distribution and habitat == 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.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Xerophyllum tenax in Flora of North America @ efloras.org |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242102053 |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=www.efloras.org}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map |url=http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Xerophyllum%20tenax.png |website=bonap.net}}</ref><ref name="u" />
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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vance |first1=Nan C. |last2=Bernhardt |first2=Peter |last3=Edens |first3=Retha M. |date=December 2004 |title=Pollination and seed production in Xerophyllum tenax (Melanthiaceae) in the Cascade Range of central Oregon |url=https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3732/ajb.91.12.2060 |journal=American Journal of Botany |language=en |volume=91 |issue=12 |pages=2060–2068 |doi=10.3732/ajb.91.12.2060 |pmid=21652355 |bibcode=2004AmJB...91.2060V |issn=0002-9122|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The density and vigor of beargrass tends to be more robust in areas with moderate to low canopy cover, where light penetration is greater.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last1=Blatner |first1=Keith |last2=Higgins |first2=Stewart |last3=Kerns |first3=Becky K. |last4=Worthington |first4=Alexis |date=2004-04-01 |title=Relationship Between Xerophyllum tenax and Canopy Density in the Southern Cascades of Washington |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/wjaf/19.2.82 |journal=Western Journal of Applied Forestry |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=82–87 |doi=10.1093/wjaf/19.2.82 |issn=0885-6095}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Peter |first1=David H. |last2=Harrington |first2=Timothy B. |last3=Thompson |first3=Mark |date=September 2017 |title=Effects of the Light Environment and Stand History on Beargrass ( Xerophyllum tenax ) Morphology and Demography |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.3955/046.091.0406 |journal=Northwest Science |language=en |volume=91 |issue=4 |pages=367–382 |doi=10.3955/046.091.0406 |bibcode=2017NWSci..91..367P |issn=0029-344X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In denser, shaded forests, the plant tends to be smaller and less productive.<ref name=":7" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Peter |first1=David |last2=Shebitz |first2=Daniela |date=December 2006 |title=Historic Anthropogenically Maintained Bear Grass Savannas of the Southeastern Olympic Peninsula |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2006.00172.x |journal=Restoration Ecology |language=en |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=605–615 |doi=10.1111/j.1526-100X.2006.00172.x |bibcode=2006ResEc..14..605P |issn=1061-2971|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Depending on conditions such as moisture and temperatures it periodically blooms in large concentrations.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |date=11 July 2019 |title=Beargrass Blooming Bountifully in the Flathead |url=https://flatheadbeacon.com/2019/07/11/beargrass-blooming-bountifully-flathead/ |access-date=2022-07-05}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shebitz |first1=Daniela J. |last2=Ewing |first2=Kern |last3=Gutierrez |first3=Jorge |date=April 2009 |title=Preliminary observations of using smoke-water to increase low-elevation beargrass ( Xerophyllum tenax ) germination |url=http://npj.uwpress.org/cgi/doi/10.2979/NPJ.2009.10.1.13 |journal=Native Plants Journal |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=13–20 |doi=10.2979/NPJ.2009.10.1.13 |issn=1522-8339|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
== Ecology == [[File:Xerophyllum_tenax_1111.JPG|thumb|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.{{citation needed paragraph|date=December 2024}}
Deer and elk eat the flowers and other parts of the plant.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Reiner|first=Ralph E.|title=Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies|publisher=Glacier Park, Inc.|year=1969|pages=4}}</ref> Bears eat the softer leaf bases,<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Fagan|first=Damian|title=Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert|publisher=FalconGuides|year=2019|isbn=978-1-4930-3633-2|location=Guilford, CT|pages=61|oclc=1073035766}}</ref> thought to be an influence on the plant's common name (in tandem with its habitat).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schmid |first1=Rudolf |last2=Moerman |first2=Daniel E. |date=November 1998 |title=Native American Ethnobotany |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/1224232 |journal=Taxon |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=980 |doi=10.2307/1224232 |issn=0040-0262 |jstor=1224232 |bibcode=1998Taxon..47..980S |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
== Uses == The fibrous leaves, which turn white as they dry, are tough, durable, and easily dyed and manipulated into tight waterproof weaves.<ref name="j">{{Cite web |title=Xerophyllum tenax Indian Basket Grass, Common beargrass PFAF Plant Database |url=https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Xerophyllum+tenax |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=pfaf.org}}</ref> Native Americans have woven the plant in baskets,<ref name=":2" /> including the Hupa, who use it to create a border pattern.<ref>Murphey, Edith Van Allen 1990 ''Indian Uses of Native Plants''. Glenwood, Ill. Meyerbooks. Originally published in 1959 (p. 2)</ref><ref name=j/> Native Americans historically roasted the rootstock for food;<ref name=":2">{{cite book |last=Whitney |first=Stephen |title=Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides) |date=1985 |publisher=Knopf |location=New York |isbn=0-394-73127-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/553 553] |url=https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/553 }}</ref> they also ate the pods, which are good cooked.<ref name=":0" /> Native Americans also braid dried leaves and adorn them on traditional buckskin dresses and jewelry.<ref>Campbell, Paul Douglas 1999 ''Survival Skills of Native California''. Gibbs Smith (p. 209)</ref><ref name="j" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == *{{Commons-inline}} *[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Xerophyllum+tenax Jepson Flora Project: ''Xerophyllum tenax''] *[http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=XETE Lady Bird Johnson Wild Flower Center, University of Texas] *[http://montana.plant-life.org/cgi-bin/species03.cgi?Liliaceae_Xerophyllumtenax Montana Plant Life] *[http://www.pnwflowers.com/flower/xerophyllum-tenax Turner Photographics, Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest] *[http://web.ewu.edu/ewflora/Melanthiaceae/Xerophyllum%20tenax.html Flora of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Idaho, Eastern Washington University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305082600/http://web.ewu.edu/ewflora/Melanthiaceae/Xerophyllum%20tenax.html |date=2016-03-05 }} *[http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Xerophyllum Pacific Bulb Society, ''Xerophyllum'']
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1019121}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Melanthiaceae Category:Edible plants Category:Flora of Western Canada Category:Flora of the Northwestern United States Category:Flora of the Southwestern United States Category:Plants described in 1813 Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status