Bear Grass

Xerophyllum tenax (Pursh) Nutt.

OAC-BIO Herbarium. University of Guelph, Canada. Year: 2012. cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Xerophyllum tenax (Bear Grass) is a species of perennial herb in the family Melanthiaceae. They are native to Canada, North America, The Contiguous United States, Western North America, and United States. They have white flowers and loculicidal capsule fruit. Individuals can grow to 5 feet.

URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/FLOPO_0980073
Definition: Of plant duration, a plant whose life span extends over more than two growing seasons, c.f. annual, biennial, ephemeral, of flowering with respect to architecture, hapaxanthic, monocarpic, pleonanthic
Attribution: Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 12, July 2012. Glossary: http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/top/glossaryi_p.html#perennial

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URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/FLOPO_0022142
Definition: whole plant herbaceous

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URI: http://www.geonames.org/6251999

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URI: http://www.geonames.org/6255149

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URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q578170

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URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/western_north_america
Definition: From the Pacific to central North America. May include Saskatchewan, Texas, and/or Guanajuato

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URI: http://www.geonames.org/6252001

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URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0000323
Definition: An achromatic color of maximum brightness; the color of objects that reflect nearly all light of all visible wavelengths.
Attribution: [database_cross_reference: Dictionary:http://dictionary.reference.com/]

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URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PO_0030092
Definition: A capsule fruit which at maturity dehisces through fruit locules

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EOL has data for 61 attributes, including:

after harvest regrowth rate
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/AfterHarvestRegrowthRate
- Definition: Indicates the relative rate of regrowth of a herbaceous plant after a harvest of above ground herbage.
- Attribution: USDA PLANTS database Characteristics Data Fields. http://plants.usda.gov/charinfo.html
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fast
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0000912
- Definition: Increased rate. A rate which is relatively high.
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anaerobic soil tolerance
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/AnaerobicSoilTolerance
- Definition: The relative tolerance of the plant to anaerobic soil conditions.
- Attribution: USDA PLANTS database Characteristics Data Fields. http://plants.usda.gov/charinfo.html
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none
- URI: http://purl.bioontology.org/ontology/SNOMEDCT/260413007
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calcareous soil tolerance
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/CalcareousSoilTolerance
- Definition: The relative tolerance of the plant to calcareous soil. Calcareous soil is defined as soil containing sufficient free CaCO3 and other carbonates to effervesce visibly or audibly when treated with cold 0.1M HCl. These soils usually contain from 10 to almost 1000g/kg CaCO3 equivalent.
- Attribution: USDA PLANTS database Characteristics Data Fields. http://plants.usda.gov/charinfo.html
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low tolerance
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0002394
- Definition: decreased tolerance to: A tolerance quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearer's decreased ability to endure a stimulus.
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fire resistance
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/FireResistance
- Definition: The ability of an organism to resist burning.
- Comment: If a plant can carry a fire—and most can—it is scored as "not fire resistant" in the USDA PLANTS database where this characteristic is evaluated with reference to problem fires in California. http://plants.usda.gov/charinfo.html
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no
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/no
- Definition: This statement is false; the answer to this question is no.
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fire tolerance
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/FireTolerance
- Definition: The relative ability of a plant to resprout, regrow, or reestablish from residual seed after a fire.
- Attribution: USDA PLANTS database Characteristics Data Fields (Fire tolerance). http://plants.usda.gov/charinfo.html
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high tolerance
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0002393
- Definition: A tolerance quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearer's increased ability to endure a stimulus
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fruit or seed color
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/FruitSeedColor
- Definition: The predominant and conspicuous color of the mature fruit or seed from a landscaping aesthetics standpoint.
- Attribution: USDA Plants database. Characteristics Data Fields. http://plants.usda.gov/charinfo.html
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black
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0000317
- Definition: A color that lacks any hues as parts.
- Comment: [database_cross_reference: PATOC:GVG]
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geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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United States
- URI: http://www.geonames.org/6252001
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habitat includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Habitat
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forest
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_01000174
- Definition: A forest biome is a terrestrial biome which includes, across its entire spatial extent, densely packed vegetation which strongly limits light penetration to the forest floor.
- Comment: Preliminary definition.
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native range includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/NativeRange
- Definition: Lists jurisdictions in which a given organism is a member of the undisturbed fauna or flora.
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North America
- URI: http://www.geonames.org/6255149
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precipitation tolerance
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/PrecipitationTolerance
- Definition: Minimum tolerable rainfall (in inches), expressed as the average annual minimum precipitation that occurs 20% of the time (i.e., the probability of it being this dry in any given year is 20%) at the driest climate station within the known geographical range of the plant. geographical range of the plant. For cultivars, the geographical range is defined as the area to which the cultivar is well adapted rather than marginally adapted.
- Comment: Minimum precipitation tolerance: Minimum tolerable rainfall, expressed as the average annual minimum precipitation that occurs 20% of the time (i.e., the probability of it being this dry in any given year is 20%) at the driest climate station within the known geographical range of the plant. Maximum precipitation tolerance: Maximum tolerable rainfall, expressed as the annual average precipitation of the wettest climate station within the known geographical range of the plant. For cultivars, the geographical range is defined as the area to which the cultivar is well adapted rather than marginally adapted.
- Attribution: USDA PLANTS database Characteristics Data Fields. http://plants.usda.gov/charinfo.html
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19 inch
seed spread rate
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/SeedSpreadRate
- Definition: The capability of the plant to spread through its seed production compared to other species with the same growth habit.
- Attribution: USDA PLANTS database Characteristics Data Fields. http://plants.usda.gov/charinfo.html
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slow
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0000911
- Definition: Decreased rate. A rate which is relatively low.
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seeds per pound
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/SeedPerPound
- Definition: The number of seeds per pound in an average seed lot.
- Attribution: USDA PLANTS database Characteristics Data Fields. http://plants.usda.gov/charinfo.html
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217333

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Bear-grass. View this species on GBIF

OAC-BIO Herbarium. University of Guelph, Canada. Year: 2012. cc-by-nc-sa-3.0