I saw this strange-looking Xerophyllum tenax in the BC Rainforest Garden, decided to give it its own thread. Wikipedia (Xerophyllum tenax - Wikipedia) lists several common names: bear grass, squaw grass, soap grass, quip-quip, and Indian basket grass. That article says that plant colonies only bloom every five to seven years. I guess I was pretty lucky to catch this. The first two photos are from ten days ago.
If I remember correctly, it was in a bed where a Rhododendron occidentale and this white Camassia are growing. After I came up the path from tunnel, I photographed the Xerophyllum, then photographed these, which doesn't mean I saw them in this order. After that, I saw the Kellogg oak. Then after a few other plants, I saw this huge camas, but can't remember if I'd came back to the same bed or if it was a different bed. I don't know these area names - is there a map I should get that shows Pacific Slope? And also the Winter Garden and the sections of the Alpine Garden? Are there other area names that aren't on the online map but are on some map?
That'd be the Pacific Slope. I'm sure new maps are in the offing -- we have just finished entirely revising our maps for staff, I expect that will flow outward for volunteers and the public eventually. Also, when the collections database goes back online later this year, it will have versions of these maps.
