Tree Beargrass
Nolina matapensis
Family: Asparagaceae
This lush-looking species has very long, strap-like, glossy green leaves with sharp edges. It is an arborescent plant, which means it will slowly develop a stout trunk over time and grow as tall as 10-15’. As this is a large specimen plant with sharp leaf margins, it should be provided ample room for growth away from walks and paths while it is young. Old foliage will turn brown and cling to the trunk to form a skirt.
Full to part sun, low water (supplement water in summer about once or twice a month). Hardy to 10°F. Some people “clean up” the brown skirts from the trunk but this skirt provides habitat for insects and other wildlife.
Taken for rheumatism, for pneumonia and lung hemorrhages; the stalks were eaten; the seeds were made a flour or meal for bread or mush; the fruit was eaten raw or preserved; plant was used as a dye, for basketry, rugs, mats and other forms of weaving, for brushes, rope, and cord; the roots were used for soap; and the dried leaves were used as cooking tools.
Nolina is named for Abbe Pierre Charles Nolin (b. 1717) a French arboriculturalist, while “matapensis” indicates its presence in the Matapan region, emphasizing its geographic and cultural significance. There are 30 species of Nolina with the principal distribution being in Mexico and extending into the southern United States.
Larval host for the Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), the snout moth Sosipatra rileyella, and yucca moths (Prodoxidae family). Native solitary bees will use the dry stalks as larval nests.
Native to the Sierra madre in the oak woodlands of eastern Sonora and Chihuahua, and extends into the adjacent pine-oak forest and tropical deciduous forest.