How to Find Bear Grass

Roberta sitting , sourrounded by bear grass in Montana

What is bear grass you ask? Where is it found? Why have I not ever seen this unique flower? For those answers and much more about this unusual plant, close your mind to outside attentions while I share with you so you will be well informed.

Things You'll Need

• A trip to the high country like the Big Sky Country, Montana.

Instructions

1. Bear grass is a well known flower found in very high altitudes of the northwestern United States and Canada. The fragrance is sweet for these multi blossomed plants that are tightly positioned to resemble a fluffy, triangular shaped flower. Numerous, delicate, individual clusters captivate the onlooker mostly because of their bold white color against the dark rich soil they thrive. Lewis and Clark observed these clusters as they visited these regions in the early 1800's, marveling at their shape, scent and color.

2. Up close you can see that this flower is long stemmed reaching as high as 5 feet into the air. This unique perennial is also called other names such as: soap grass, elk grass, fire lily as well as squaw and Indian basket grass.

3. If you have ever biked, walked or snow-shoed into the elevations around 5000 feet, you might have seen the spindly dark green stalk jetting out from the snow or ground. The leaves are pointed which resemble blades of tall grass fanning outward from the single stalk. The edges of these blades are barbed, so are not smooth. The flower or clusters on the single stem are the center of the bear grass plant. At times it flourishes in low ground areas perhaps from a plant reseeding itself to that spot. The flower appears in the months of June through August then dying off, reseeding itself in the upper timberline terrain. Once, I tried to transplant a healthy bear grass to 1500 feet. Since it grew in an subalpine area, it did not survive for me.

4. The flowers are easily dried for flower arrangements, turning slightly beige in color when they are used in this way. Most often times it is the leaves that are predominantly placed by florists and not the flowers themselves. The leaves are strong enough for weaving, hence the name Indian basket grass. Native Americans used all of this plant for head dress as well as foot wear.