VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Xerophyllum tenax | Beargrass 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Beargrass flower stalks are a delicacy for deer and elk and are eaten by
other big game animals as well [18,90].  Beargrass foliage is of low
forage value.  Elk eat beargrass during early summer in Montana
[31,57,90].  Thick mats of beargrass and sedge (Carex spp.) provide
excellent feeding sites for pocket gophers [48] and other rodents which
attract raptors [10].  Sometimes grizzly bears use beargrass leaves as
nesting material in their winter dens [95].


PALATABILITY : 
The relish and degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for
beargrass in Montana is rated as poor for cattle, sheep, horses, elk,
mule deer, and white-tailed deer [27,35].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
Beargrass provides fair cover for small mammals but poor cover for small
nongame birds and upland game birds in Montana [27].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
In Montana beargrass has potential for erosion control and long-term
revegetation, with high biomass production, good growth on gentle or
moderate slopes and fair growth on steep slopes [27].  Beargrass seed
needs at least 12 to 16 weeks of cold stratification for germination;
seed germinates best in vermiculite.  Further propagation details are
available [78].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Native Americans in the Rocky Mountain region traded this plant to
tribes from other areas.  Eastern prairie tribes used the boiled roots
for hair tonic and as a treatment for sprains.  Coastal tribes bleach
and dye the leaves for decorative designs woven into baskets [58] and
Southwest tribes use it in basketweaving.  New beargrass leaves produced
the first year after a fire are preferred for basket weaving because
they are stronger, thinner, and more pliable [53].  In recent years
florists have discovered that beargrass leaves make sturdy long-lasting
greens, and some National Forests are issuing permits for beargrass
harvesting [24].  Beargrass rhizomes may be toxic to people [58].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
West Coast Sites:  Beargrass is very frost tolerant [43,48].  When
beargrass is an understory dominant in the Pacific silver fir and
mountain hemlock zones of the Oregon Cascades, the site is usually very
frost-prone, often droughty, and frequently poor in nutrients [43,48].
Conifer regeneration is often difficult on these sites due to cold
subsurface soil temperatures, high surface temperatures after snowmelt,
rapid soil drying, beargrass-sedge mats, pocket gophers, and a short
growing season with prolonged frosts [48,49].  Management suggestions
for these sites include using a shelterwood system, managing residual
Pacific silver fir, or providing other types of protection [48].  On
some Pacific silver fir, mountain hemlock and western white pine sites
in central and southern Oregon, beargrass cover may be very dense (60 to
75%), which creates a serious planting barrier [10,30].  Clearcutting
and scarification in Oregon often produce areas with high densities of
beargrass and sedge that provide good habitat for pocket gophers which
feed heavily on tree seedlings [48,49].  However, in an Oregon study of
an area with low beargrass cover, beargrass disappeared immediately
after logging and reappeared in trace amounts 4 years later [28].  On
partial cuts in southwestern Oregon mixed-conifer and mixed-evergreen
forest types, beargrass presence indicates that good natural
regeneration is probable [38].  In many western hemlock and tanoak
(Lithocarpus densiflorus) associations of southwestern Oregon, beargrass
indicates poorer (cooler, dry) sites [10].

Rocky Mountain sites:  In eastern Washington, Idaho, and western
Montana, subalpine fir and mountain hemlock sites with beargrass as an
understory dominant are often too droughty in the summer for Engelmann
spruce regeneration [22].  Beargrass is generally a dominant on cool,
dry sites in the Rocky Mountains where both site preparation and shade
may be needed for prompt regeneration.  Lodgepole pine is frequently
dominant in early succession on these sites [73,79].  Beargrass
decreases sharply or may be lost completely after scarification on all
Montana habitat types because of mechanical damage to its rhizomes
[9,52].  Beargrass may take 25 or more years to recover from
scarification [5,9].

Other Disturbance:  Because of its tough, wiry leaves and tufted growth
form, beargrass is tolerant of trampling [17].

Chemical Control:  Beargrass appears to be fairly resistant to many
herbicides [26,60].  Moderate control can be achieved with bromacil,
hexazinone, and terbacil, which are also associated with conifer
seedling mortality.  Since beargrass roots are deeper than those of most
conifer seedlings, beargrass control may be less necessary than control
of other competitors, such as long-stolon sedge (Carex pensylvanica),
with shallow roots that compete directly with conifer seedling roots.
Detailed information about chemical control has been reported by Dimock
[26] and summarized by Miller and Kidd [64].

Related categories for Species: Xerophyllum tenax | Beargrass