Beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax (Pursh) Nutt, Melanthiaceae)
Beargrass Savannah vegetative communities have historically been maintained by native people's in the North West. For centuries, Beargrass has been an essential element of baskets made by local tribes. The basket making quality (specifically leaf pliability) of Beargrass improves with exposure to fire and tribes historicly burned to stimulate the new growth of fibrous leaves. Quinault and Skokomish Tribes still maintain Beargrass Savannahs today. At the center of this site is Blue Elderberry (Sambucus caerulea). Fire scarifies the hard seed coat of buried seeds and stimulates their germination, which usually occurs the first growing season after a fire. Edible berries and flowers are used for medicine, dyes for basketry, arrow shafts, flutes, whistles, and clapper sticks. Elderberries are high in vitamin C. The flowers when prepared as a tea, are used to break dry fevers and stimulate perspiration, aid headache, indigestion, twitching eyes, rheumatism, appendix inflammation, bladder or kidney infections, colds, influenza, bleeding in lungs, and is helpful to newborn babies. Applied externally, leaves, flowers, bark and twigs are excellent as a poultice, mixed equally with chamomile, for soreness, inflammations, joint stiffness, and to reduce the swelling of bee stings.
*Medicinal information from http://didgood.com/ecoengineering/resources/cs_sanic5.pdf The USDA, NRCS plant guide
