Beargrass Season

Along with everything else this wacky summer, the beargrass began blooming a month early.

A typical beargrass "poof"

A tall clublike plant, whose flowers form a large white ball at it's very top, beargrass is known for growing in mountain meadows throughout the Western U.S.  Here in the Cascades, it usually reaches peak bloom by early July.  But....this year's strange weather pattern with it's unseasonable hot temperatures saw beargrass flowering by late May.

The head is composed of hundreds of tiny flowers

After my photo session at Panther Creek Falls, I drove over to nearby Falls Creek Falls, hoping to catch another waterfall in action.  But the midday sunshine was not conducive to photography, and all my images turned out lousy.  (I've decided to wait for a cloudy autumn day before returning.)  However, the silver lining to this otherwise nonproductive trip was a forest full of beargrass plumes.

Close up

A member of the corn lily family, beargrass is typically the first plant to sprout after a forest fire.  These lovely poofy plumes are common in forest clearings throughout the high Cascades.  Beargrass bloom in cycles, only reaching peak every five to seven years.

Extreme close up

I love beargrass and try not to miss peak bloom season.  It appears different regions of the PNW Cascades take turns having good beargrass years.  Last year, the forests around Central Oregon seemed to win the beargrass lottery.  This year, Mt. Hood and the surrounding forests of SW Washington sported the lion's share of blooming plants.

A favorite of bugs and people

I came away from this short hike with a dozen good photos of beargrass poofs - and some nice macro shots of their tiny flowers.


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