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Bear-grass ( Xerophyllum tenax) By Russ Holmes. Bear-grass is in the Liliaceae (lily family) which contains 478 species in North America and approximately 4,200 species worldwide distributed mostly in the tropics.
Aug 20, 2018 · Beargrass can grow up to five feet in height with long and wiry, grass-like basal leaves at the base of the stalk and a cluster of small, dense white flowers at the top. While bears do not eat the plant, they will use leaves as denning material. Sheep, deer, elk, and goats are known to eat beargrass.
Beargrass, or rattlesnake master, is an herbaceous perennial in the Apiaceae (carrot) family. It is native to open woodlands and tall grass prairies of the central United States and is also distributed across many eastern states.
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- Physical description
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bear grass, (genus Xerophyllum), either of two species of North American plants constituting the genus Xerophyllum of the family Melanthiaceae. Despite their common name and grasslike leaves, the plants are not true grasses. Both species, common bear grass (Xerophyllum tenax) and turkey beard (X. asphodeloides), are used by Native Americans for bas...
The western species, common bear grass (X. tenax), is also known as elk grass and fire lily. It is a light green mountain perennial with a stout unbranched stem, 0.6 to 2 metres (2 to 6 feet) high, which rises from a tuberlike rootstock and cordlike roots. The stem bears a dense basal tuft of narrow rough-edged leaves, about 1 metre (3 feet) long; the leaves of the upper part of the stem are similar but much smaller. Flowering occurs at five to seven years, and the plants often flower profusely the season following a wildfire. The top of the stem develops a large cluster of many small creamy white flowers. Turkey beard, or eastern turkey beard (X. asphodeloides), of southern North America, is similar in appearance and grows in dry pine barrens.
Britannica Quiz
In the southern and southwestern United States the name bear grass is sometimes given to various kinds of yucca, especially to Yucca filamentosa and Y. glauca, and also to camas (Camassia scilloides) and the aloelike Texas sotol (Dasylirion texanum), all of which have more or less grasslike leaves.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jul 30, 2022 · Beargrass is an extraordinarily charismatic plant because of its unique and beautiful appearance. The massive, field-filling blooms displayed in spectacular surroundings make it an iconic plant of the mountainous northwest.
Yucca filamentosa, [1] Adam's needle and thread, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae [3] native to the southeastern United States. Growing to 3 metres (10 feet) tall, it is an evergreen shrub valued in horticulture.
Beargrass ( Xerophyllum tenax (Pursh) Nutt.) is a source of food, habitat, and raw material for animals, pollinating insects, and people across its range in the Western United States. The plant has long been used by Native Americans, who harvest the leaves for basketry and other crafts.
