Either of two species of North American plants that make up the genus Xerophyllum , in the lily family .
The western species, X. tenax , also known as elk grass, squaw grass, and fire lily, is a smooth, light-green mountain perennial with a stout, unbranched stem and grasslike, rough-edged leaves at the bottom. It flowers at five to seven years, bearing a large cluster of small, creamy white flowers at the top of the stem. The turkey beard ( X. asphodeloides ) of southern North America is a similar plant that grows in dry pine barrens. In the southern and southwestern U.S., the name bear grass is given to various kinds of yucca and to the camas ( Camassia scilloides ) and the aloelike Dasylirion texanum .