Melanthiaceae
Basket-grass
Xerophyllum tenax
- Family
- Melanthiaceae
- Genus
- Xerophyllum
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Common names
By language (9)
- Chinese
- 百合科旱葉百合屬, 旱叶草, 熊尾草, 熊草
- English
- Basket-grass, Bear-grass, Beargrass, Common beargrass, Western turkeybeard
- Finnish
- Karhunheinä
- French
- Herbe d'ours, Xérophylle tenace
- German
- Bärengras
- Japanese
- ベアグラス
- Slovenian
- Medvedja trava
- Vietnamese
- Bách hợp lá khô
- Western Frisian
- Beargers
Synonyms
- Helonias tenax Pursh
- Melanthium spicatum Walter
- Xerophyllum douglasii S.Watson
Flowers
- In flower
- May to July (from 1,316 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
- Flower colour
- white (USDA PLANTS Database)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native
Photos
FlowerPhoto: moranat, CC0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: David Anderson, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Hilary Rose Dawson, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Matt Berger, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: David Anderson, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Walter Fertig, CC0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Cindy Bell, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Aaron Liston, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Alina Martin, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Cesar Garcia Olmos, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
More in Xerophyllum
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.