Bear Grass Bear Grass
looks like a grass, but really belongs to the lily
family. It is about 4.5 feet tall. Its
olive-colored, grass-like leaves grow from the base
of the plant and are tough and wiry. The outside
leaves clasp around the stem. The leaves have
toothed margins, and grow about 35 inches long,
getting shorter as they near the flowers, looking
very much like a fan. The flowers
of bear grass grow on a stalk that can be 6 feet
tall with many small flowers. Each flower is creamy
white, and saucer shaped, and has a sweet
Bear grass is found in open forests and meadows at sub alpine and low alpine elevations in the western United States. It is commonly found under alpine larch (Larix lyallii) and whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) stands on cold, rocky sites at upper timberlines. Bear grass is a fire-resistant species that is the first plant to grow after a fire. Beargrass, and many other native plants, need periodic burns to produce strong, new growth. After a fire beargrass sprouts from its rhizomes which lie just under the surface. Light fires of short duration are best. Intense fires which linger in the same place for a long time will kill the rhizomes under the ground, and prevent the beargrass from growing back. Native Americans in Oregon, Washington state, and British Columbia have traditionally made beautiful baskets with the stems and roots of beargrass. When the leaves are dried in the sun in preparation for making baskets, they turn a creamy white. Combined with other materials of different colors, beautiful designs were woven into the baskets. Hats and other practical objects were also made of beargrass. A wonderful site to find out more about Native American basket weaving is: http://www.kstrom.net/isk/art/basket/baskmenu.html 2002
bibliography: "Bear Grass", http://www.timbermountain.com/wildflowers.html, (6-23-00) "Botanical and Ecological Characteristics", http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/xerten/botanical_and_ ecological_characteristics.html "Basketry, Hats, Footgear--Native American Art", http://www.kstrom.net/isk/art/basket/bascloth.html, (8-19-02). |