I Love Beargrass.......(but bears don't -- go figure!)

I really love taking pictures of flowers, particularly wild flowers found in Montana.  And I really love Bear Grass -- a rather unique looking flower.  2013 was a banner year in Glacier National Park for Bear Grass, particularly on the west side of the park.  This beautiful flower can be found all over the Park and Montana's low- to sub-alpine areas.  These photos were taken on the east side of the park on a hike I took to Twin Falls (another "must see" in the Spring when the water is at it's highest).

Bear grass looks a lot like grass, but it belongs to the lily family (Xerophyllum Tenax). The grass-like leaves grow from the base of the plant and are tough and wiry.

The flowers of the bear grass grow on a stalk that can be 6 feet tall (most are not) with many small flowers. The lowest flowers bloom first, creating a tight knot of buds at the top.  This is my favorite stage of the bear grass bloom.

 The buds at the top make the flower look like fluffy, upside down ice cream cone.

 

Bear Grass tends to bloom in 5-7 year cycles. The plant dies and sends out seeds to reproduce.

 

  Bear Grass is a fire resistant plant that is usually the first to start growing after a fire.

  Native Americans have traditionally made beautiful baskets from the stems and roots of Bear Grass (fully blossomed bear grass).

Other names for Bear Grass are Turkey Beard, Elk Grass, Squaw Grass, and Fire Lilly. And.....BEARS DON'T EAT BEAR GRASS (and neither will horses). Mountain Goats eat the leaves; Elk, Deer, and Big Horn Sheep eat the blossoms. Sometimes bears will haul in the plants to their winter dens for nesting materials.

 

 I particularly like this flower, as the individual petals look like little stars floating around the flower.

By the way.....this is Twin Falls in Two Medicine!!