Bear Grass is Blooming

Laura Roady

Outdoor Column

It’s that time of year again when the high country is awash in blooms. Most noticeable are the creamy clusters of flowers sticking above all other vegetation. It is hard to miss bear grass. 

Bear grass is only found in the higher elevations of the Rockies, Cascades, northern Sierras and the Coastal Range. Only people from British Columbia down to central California and Wyoming are treated to the spectacular display of bear grass blooms.

The creamy white flowers start blooming at the bottom of the cluster, creating a tight bud on top, much like an upside down ice cream cone. Flowering occurs in five- to seven-year cycles, but the cycles are not synchronized between all plants, so there will be flowers every year.

There will even be flowers soon after a fire because bear grass is a fire-resistant species. Bear grass is often the first species to grow after a fire because it grows from rhizomes just below the surface.

Periodic burning is needed for the bear grass to produce strong, new growth. However, when it has been too long between fires, the fires tend to be hotter and more intense, which can kill the rhizomes.

The rhizomes are needed to propagate offshoots that start new plants every year. Once a plant blooms and sets fruit, it will die. But not before it has sent off another vegetative shoot that will grow into a new plant. Bear grass also uses seeds to reproduce. The seeds are 4 mm long and it takes 830,000 seeds to weigh a pound.

The leaves are not as delicate as the seeds or flowers. The edges of the long leaves are finely-serrated in one direction and slippery in the other. The leaves grow in a fan-like array and form dense clumps. Even though bear grass looks like grass, it isn’t. Bear grass is a member of the Lily family and has a similar looking species in the east called Eastern Turkeybeard.

Another surprise is that bears have little to do with bear grass. Occasionally grizzly bears will use the leaves as nesting material in their winter dens. Few animals actually eat the bear grass and this may have to do with the low nutritional value of the leaves.  However, deer and elk seek out the delicate flower stalks to eat. 

While bear grass lacks nutritional value, it provides excellent cover for pocket gophers and other rodents from raptors because of the dense clumps of leaves. 

Since bear grass actually has little to do with bears, the other names it is known by may be more suitable, such as Indian Basket Grass, Soap Grass, or Fire Lily. Regardless of the name, we can enjoy the amazing display of blooms every summer.

Laura Roady is owner of Roady Outdoor Photography and is a freelance photographer and writer. She can be reached at 267-5397 or at roadyphoto@gmail.com.