When I mention bear grass, people familiar with the plant usually light up as if its creamy blossoms were right in front of their face. I’m lucky to have one in full bloom right now in my backyard (yes, just one—I have more, but they’re too young to bloom). Bear grass typically takes many years to flower, so I am savoring this one as much as possible. En masse in nature they are quite a vision, and even when not in bloom they make a lovely, luminescent, soil-stabilizing ground cover. But don’t you dare even think about taking even one plant from the wild.
Bear grass, a common name for Xerophyllum tenax, comes from observations that bears like to eat the young fleshy stems, and Grizzly bears reportedly have been known to use bear grass leaves in winter dens during hibernation. It’s a popular plant for many other species who use it for food or cover: from bees and beetles to rodents and elk. Though not a true grass, other common names include Indian basket grass, deer grass, elk grass, and soap grass (not sure where the latter came from!).
The botanical name comes from the Greek xero (dry) and phyllon (leaf), and the Latin tenax (tough or tenacious). It’s an evergreen member of the corn lily family (Melanthiaceae), a group of flowering perennial herbs native to the northern hemisphere. I’ve included bear grass in my book even though it’s not terribly easy to grow. When it does establish, it spreads (very slowly) by forming offsets and by seed.
Long, skinny, and rather wiry leaves arise from the rhizome in clumps. Their edges are rough and finely serrated and it’s their toughness that helps the plant minimize water loss during periods of drought, as well as insulate it from frost.
Flowers open from the bottom up, so that the inflorescence, which ranges in height from two to five feet, takes on many different shapes as it matures. Flower fragrance varies; one study reported that one-fifth of bear grass flowers in their sample had a sweet smell like cultivated lilacs, while the others smelled “musty-acrid.” The one now blooming in my yard is, thankfully, the former, although not as sweet as lilacs.
After the blossoms fade away the flowering plant usually dies, but the long-lived rhizome lives on and offsets bloom when they are mature enough. Its fruits are three-lobed dry capsules, about ¼ inch in length, that contain 6 or 7 beige seeds, which may be eaten by migratory birds prior to fall flights. They may be sown in late summer, fall or winter and need at least 12 weeks of cold stratification.
How it grows
Bear grass grows naturally in a variety of conditions—in cool, moist meadows and bogs, and mixed-coniferous forest openings in most of western Washington and Oregon, coastal areas of northern and central California, northern Idaho, parts of British Columbia and Montana, and a snippet of Wyoming. I’ve come 
across it on hikes in the Oregon Cascades near trees such as Douglas-fir, Western hemlock, or mountain ash, and among smaller species like huckleberry, bunchberry, fawn lily, star-flowered false solomon’s seal, inside-out flower, foamflower, and woodland strawberry.
It’s often found growing on slopes (in soil that’s not particularly rich) that are moist during winter and spring, but fast draining. I grow mine on a south-facing slight slope, in partial shade. The soil’s a bit rocky and has been amended with leaf compost. Large rocks nearby help keep roots cool and moist. During very warm and dry periods I give supplemental water, especially when plants are young.
Conservation
For centuries, Native Americans valued bear grass and used it sustainably for basketry and decoration, and ate the roasted roots. Today bear grass is having a very tough time surviving with our myriad modern threats: Logging and other habitat loss, introduced forest pathogens and insects that affect associated species, fire suppression, and the floral industry that recklessly collects it for lucrative commerce (much of it is exported). If you know of a florist who uses bear grass, ask them where they got it and explain the disastrous ramifications if necessary. Never take this plant (or any other native plant) from the wild.
Bear grass is a fire resistant species that is often the first plant to grow after a fire. Like many other native plants, it needs periodic burns for strong new growth. Following a light fire that increases light, growing space, and soil nutrients, bear grass sprouts from its rhizomes, which lie just under the soil’s surface. But when fires are suppressed—often due to timber industry management—the result is fewer but much more intense fires that kill rhizomes, making it impossible for the plants to come back.
Wildlife value
All of these perils affect not only the species directly, but also its pollinators—nearly 30 species of flies, beetles, and bees, and possibly some butterflies, moths, and wasps. Besides pollinators, bear grass also provides food for rodents, deer and elk, and even mountain goats at higher elevations, as well as other habitat components, such as nesting material for birds, mammals, and insects—all of which are essential, interconnected ecosystem members. More info on conservation here.
Beargrass’s only close relative, X. asphodeloides, grows in the southeastern part of the U.S.
To leave a comment, click on blog’s title
Will it grow under spruce trees
Thanks for your question. Bear grass generally does best when planted in areas where it naturally occurs (or occurred historically) and with associated native plants. To find out if bear grass naturally occurs in your county, go to http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=xete and zoom in. This Forest Service page lists ecosystems and plant associations: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/xerten/all.html. If your spruce trees are native (http://oregonstate.edu/trees/conifer_genera/spp/spruce_spp.html) that would help, but I don’t think it’s essential. I imagine if the shade from the trees isn’t too heavy and there is at least some dappled sunlight, they might do fine, but consider incorporating some other associated natives if you haven’t already. Best of luck!
I’ve been trying to find this plant in local native plant nurseries but am having zero luck. Really would like to plant some to (eventually) harvest leaves for basketry. I do have your book and have contacted all the nurseries in my area (Vancouver island). Fingers crossed I’ll come across some soon!
It doesn’t look like bear grass naturally occurs on Vancouver Island, so perhaps that’s why nurseries don’t carry it. http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/eflora_maps/index.html?sciname=Xerophyllum%20tenax&BCStatus=yellow&synonyms='Helonias%20tenax'&commonname=bear-grass&PhotoID=3953&mapservice=VascularWMS
Ah! Thank you Eileen, that must be why!
I purchased 50 plants from “Plants of the Wild” in Washington State. Every plant has flourished and we have them all over our property south of Seattle. I don’t agree with the established statements that this plant will not bloom for years or that they die back after flowering. One particular plant we have had 29 gigantic flowers in 2017 and 31 in 2018.
Ken
Auburn, WA
Ken, that’s very interesting. Statements about bear grass’ flowering habits are generalizations, of course, and there can be variation in individual plants, but that’s a guess. I also wonder if your experience has something to do with the plants being from a different region (that nursery is east of the Cascades, near the Idaho border). I do recommend growing local ecotypes whenever possible, to avoid outbreeding depression, etc. Thanks for your comment!
Snohomish County Conservation District is selling bear grass this year check out http://snohomishcd.org/annual-plant-sale/
I live a bit west of Port Angeles. Bear Grass is supposedly native here but nearly non existent…I would like to propagate it and plant on my farm and local roadsides. Where can I get seed or starts?
Sorry, I don’t know which nurseries would carry them, but you might query Inside Passage Seeds; there’s also a list of nurseries at the back of my book as well, but few are close to you. Also check out Native Seed Network run by the Institute for Applied Ecology, although their website seems to be down right now. I strongly recommend only using plant material that originated near your area to prevent outbreeding depression and help them thrive in the local conditions. -ES
Seems to me that this year was really a bumper crop and other years not so much. Do they, can they bloom every year and what makes some years more abundant. I recall someone told me once that they bloom every seven years but I’ve not been able to verify that.
Thanks, I LOVE beargrass, Pam
Very moist springs (which we had this past spring) and lingering moisture in summer are the key to those huge drifts of bear grass in bloom (and probably having clumps that are mostly the same age). According to my research, they bloom once after many years (I think mine was 5 or 6 years old) and then die, but the plant may live on via offshoots at the base, or it may self-sow. I’ve heard of that seven-year idea, but I don’t think it’s quite that exact! 🙂
I live in Vancouver Washington, Clark County. Can you help with a native plant nursery that would carry Bear Grass and other natives?
You might try watershedgardenworks.com … they are in Longview, which isn’t very close but I don’t think there are any other native nurseries nearby. Also check with Clark Conservation District in Battle Ground … it looks like they have annual fall plant sales! http://www.clarkcd.org/onlineplantsale/
I just got in 500 bare root. We started potting them up today. We generally don’t retail but if you would spend $100 I can help you out with lots of Xerophyllum Tenax.
I just got 15 tiny bear grass plants from Lawyer Nursery near Olympia WA. They are a wholesale operation that has a retail sale for four days every spring – this year May 18-21. I got there just minutes before closing on the last day hoping to get a bundle of 5 for $15. Thrilled to get 3 bundles of 5 for $15! I hope my thumb is green enough to be worthy of this! I believe Lawyer’s headquarters is in Plains, Montana.
Thanks for letting us know.
Lawyer Nursery is closing operations and has sold their stock.
I purchased bear grass plants at Woodbrook Nursery in Gig Harbor, WA. They sell only native plants and have quite a fantastic selection.
We just planted out 12 two-year-old seedlings of beargrass in our school native plant garden today. I had not read, before just now, about oubreeding depression. We got these seeds from Klamath-Siskiyou, clearly WAY far away from King County. Would Woodbrook in Gig Harbor or Inside Passages in Port Angeles be close enough to prevent oubreeding depression? I could not get the county map you referred to to work on my device, btw. Thank you!
If you can’t find anything closer, Gig Harbor is closer to King Co than Port Angeles, but I’d ask the grower where their plants originated (where they got the seed) and whether they use “local genotypes” and that will guide you. SW Oregon is way too far from King Co … plants that originate in your area will also be better adapted to your climate than that of the Siskiyou’s. Best of luck.
I am trying beargrass in my garden in Fort Mohave, AZ. 115 degrees today, but so far this summer it is holding up fine. We get little or no winter temps below 32 degrees. From most posted comments, these plants thrive in areas a LONG way from here. Does it need low winter temps to bloom, assuming it makes it through this first summer?
Beargrass grows in zones 4-8; you are in zone 9 or 10 and the furthest south they occur naturally is Monterey County, Cal. I strongly suggest that you grow plants that are native to your area, for a number of reasons. Thanks for your comment.
We have a huge bear grass, however this year the new stems or frongs have twisted into a tangled mess. I thought they would grow out to strengthen out but haven’t. Would you advise pruning the twisted ones back or shall I just leave it to sort it’s self out?
I’d suggest just leaving it, as it’s best to not clean up in the fall.
Has anyone in Wisconsin zone 4-5 tried it?
Bear grass is endemic to the west coast, zones 4-8. It might not survive a Wisconsin winter. Please grow plants that are locally native and therefore best for wildlife.
Thank you for your information on Bear Grass. My husband grew up in Cody, Wyoming and has fond memories of Bear Grass in the wild and being one of his favorite flowers. We live in Western Washington and discovered it in the wild on our way to Mount Rainier. I recently purchased Bear Grass from a Native Plant Salvage non profit that has permission to remove native plants from construction sites that would otherwise be destroyed. I have converted my garden to a native landscape that is pesticide and herbicide free.
Wonderful! Best of luck with those wonderful plants and thank you for growing natives and not using nasty chemicals.
My local Oregon native plant nursery (in the Willamette valley) is selling these so I will try a few. Quick question though- do you know what other natives it generally grows near? I literally have every type of soil (yes, even some sandy areas!) and every type of sun/shade/directional exposure and soil moisture in my 1 1/2 acres so the possibilities are endless. I’m about 1300 feet above sea level. We do get snow up here too…even when the valley has none, we could have a foot or more. Temps can dip into the mid twenties in winter. Thanks in advance!
I’m very sorry for the long delay in responding to you (tech problems!). If it’s not too late: As I wrote in the post, I’ve seen it on hikes in the Oregon Cascades near trees such as Douglas-fir, Western hemlock, or mountain ash, and among smaller species like huckleberry, bunchberry, fawn lily, star-flowered false solomon’s seal, inside-out flower, foamflower, and woodland strawberry. You might also check out this page, which lists some other species: