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June 21, 2006 : Xerophyllum tenax
Keywords: Melanthiaceae | Xerophyllum tenax (Pursh) Nutt. | 010700-0156-1974
The first of today's two photographs was taken yesterday morning of a plant in UBC's Alpine Garden. I wish I could claim credit for the second photograph, since that would mean I observed these plants en masse, but I can't. It's a public domain work from the US National Park Service, found via the Wikipedia entry for Xerophyllum tenax.
A native to dry, open coniferous forests at medium- to high-elevation mountains in some parts of western North America (distributon map | FNA treatment), Xerophyllum tenax is one of two species in the genus. An eastern North American counterpart, Xerophyllum asphodeloides, grows in similar habitats: pine barrens and dry mountain forests.
The leaves of bear-grass were (and are) used by indigenous peoples as material for weaving baskets and apparel (see the Plants for a Future entry on Xerophyllum tenax).
Photography resource link: Mastering the Histogram, an article by Chris Gamel for PhotoMigrations. “Mastering” is a fairly strong word to use – I'd prefer understanding, myself. Nevertheless, it is one of the most important things to comprehend about digital images. I look at the image's histogram immediately after taking each photograph to reduce disappointment when I later examine the images on my computer.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at June 21, 2006 12:14 AM
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Posted by: Beverley at June 21, 2006 8:01 AM
As always, when I see a group of flowers, or others like this my fanciful mind sees something else. In this one I see a whole croud of 'people' all gathered around that little mountain, as though waiting in anticipation of a grand speaker who may be about to come out and address the croud. See all their little noses pointing upwards, as though looking to the top of the mountain? I love this pic, and thanks for sharing it here.
Liz
Posted by: Liz Bouchard at June 23, 2006 4:14 PM
This plant has recently captivated the interest of my friend Kate and myself and we found out about its inclusion in your garden at our local nursery. We are making wild gardens and would dearly love a specimen. They are available in the U.S. but not here! Any ideas? This plant ranks high on my list of must-haves along with Devil's Club (Echinopanax Horridum) which lived in the depth of a forest from my childhood and Indian Pipe of which I have a specimen. No sign of a nursery breeding those. Do you have a specimen of Devil's Club? Sincerely, Barbara of Gabriola Island
Posted by: Barbara Ebbeson at May 7, 2007 10:36 PM
Barbara, the Native Plant Society of BC provides “the definitive list of native plant nurseries in BC” – - one of them should have what you're looking for (note: you'll likely have more success asking for Oplopanax horridus). Alternatively, you can ask on the forums (see link above "Post a Comment" where one of the many participants on there might have recently encountered these plants in a nursery.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at May 8, 2007 9:26 AM
Fraser's Thimble Farms has a listing for Xerophyllum tenax
Posted by: John Waddington at June 5, 2007 6:07 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day and all associated images are licensed under a Creative Commons License except when otherwise specified in the accompanying written entry.
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Xerophyllum tenax - Z5 - RHS Index of Garden Plants, Griffiths
Xerophyllum tenax - Z5-9 - A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, Brickell, Cole, Zuk
Xerophyllum tenax - Z5 - Plants for a Future, www.pfaf.org