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Small, greenish red-tinted, bell-shaped flowers on long pedicels.

near Lake Toxaway, Transylvania Co, NC

Larry Mellichamp

Fruit

Transylvania Co, NC

Larry Mellichamp

Leaves

Beargrass is easy to identify by its sharp, thick, evergreen leaves in a mounded basal rosette and the long, curly filaments on the leaf margins.

Paynter, Wilmington, 4/30/2010

Common in dunes, woods and roadsides of the coast, piedmont and mountains. Note from Jack Spruill: "The leaves / blades of this plant are very strong. I remember when people who smoked herrings would use the split blades of beargrass to tie the herrings into small bundles to be hung in a smoke house. Even through suitable cord was widely available, it was the tradition to use split beargrass blades."

Coming into bloom

Wilmington, May 2012

Flowers close up

Inside the flower, 3-cleft stigma surrounded by stamens with pollen.

Garden in Mecklenburg County, NC

Larry Mellichamp

Close-up of flowers

Garden in Mecklenburg County, NC

Larry Mellichamp

Small yellow flowers in March

Garden in Orange County, NC

Bettina Darveaux

Close-up of leaves showing silvery scales. More numerous scales are on the underside of the leaves creating a silvery sheen

Garden in Orange County, NC

Bettina Darveaux

Fall colors beginning to appear at end of summer

Garden in Orange County, NC

Bettina Darveaux

Fall colors in November with next years flower buds formed. Plant is semi-evergreen so the orange foliage persists into the following year.

Garden in Orange County, NC

Bettina Darveaux

Showy white stamens and no petals, with alternate, toothed leaves

Forsyth County NC (wildflower garden)

Lisa Lofland Gould

5 petals and 5 sepals, the petals longer than the sepals

Rutherford County NC

Lisa Lofland Gould

Trifoliate compound leaves (usually), canes without a whitish bloom, petals longer than sepals

Forsyth County NC

Lisa Lofland Gould

The flowers are on long pedicels as verses in the similar species M. alatus where the flowers are sessile.

Macon County, NC

Bettina Darveaux

Close-up of flower showing the lower lip which has some yellow in the throat

Jackson County, NC

Bettina Darveaux