Parry's Beargrass

When P. A. Munz and J. C. Roos (1950) named Nolina parryi subsp. wolfii, a mountain woodland plant, the related coastal entity became known as N. parryi subsp. parryi. J. C. Dice (1988) determined that the mountain entity, not the coastal one, was probably the basis for Watson’s N. parryi. Consequently, Dice reduced subsp. wolfii to synonymy under subsp. parryi, which left the coastal plants without a distinguishing name. Dice has named the plants as a separate species, N. cismontana.

Plants caulescent; rosettes from woody, branched caudices and forming small colonies. Stems 5–21 dm. Leaves 65–220 per rosette; blade wiry, upright, or lax, 50–140 cm × 20–40 mm, rarely glaucous; bases broad, spoon-shaped, 5–16.5 cm wide; margins serrulate, not filiferous. Scape 4–17 dm, 26–90 mm diam. at base. Inflorescences compound paniculate, 9–18 × 20–130 cm; bracts persistent, 15–36 cm, papery; bractlets laciniate, to 10 mm, fragile. Flowers: tepals 2.5–5 mm; fertile stamens: filaments 3–4 mm, anthers 1.3–1.8 mm; infertile stamens: filaments 1–2.5 mm, anthers 0.4–0.5 mm; pedicel erect, proximal to joint 0.5–2 mm, distal to joint 1–2 mm. Capsules thin-walled, 9–13 × 8–11 mm, notched basally and apically. Seeds reddish brown, ovoid to oblong, bursting ovary wall, 3–4 ´ 2–3 mm. 2n = 38.

Calif.

Flowering spring.

Rocky slopes of desert and pinyon-juniper woodlands; 900--2100m.

Nolina bigelovii subsp. parryi (S. Watson) E. Murray; N. bigelovii (Torrey) S. Watson var. parryi (S. Watson) L. D. Benson; N. bigelovii subsp. wolfii (Munz) E. Murray; N. bigelovii var. wolfii (Munz) L. D. Benson; N. parryi subsp. wolfii Munz; N. wolfii (Munz) Munz

Nolina parryi is typically found at elevations 900 to 2100 meters, and is a California endemic. The bioregional distribution includes the southerns High Sierra Nevada (Kern Plateau), eastern San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, Desert Mountains and Sonoran Desert.

Nolina parryi (Parry's beargrass, Parry nolina, or giant nolina) is a flowering plant that is native to Baja California, southern California and Arizona.