>This plant grows at lower elevations where snow is rare as well. I have a stand here at 2,500 feet on the east slope of the Cascades along the I-90 corridor an hour from Seattle. It is the lowest stand I have found and from which I collect seed. The only other stands I know of are about 3200 feet near Snoqualmie Pass. The lower stand blooms pretty much every year but does not always produce good seed. The last few years have seen poor seed set. It is curious to find these plants some distance from the Cascade crest in the drier forests (east slope) and in dry open flats amoung pine and fir forest where the weather is much like Denver, Colorado rather than Seattle. I believe there is even some lodgepole pine in those adjacent forests which one would not typically associate with beargrass. It does grow primarily at high elevation, slopes and poor soils, but you find these 'outliars' that tend to be befuddling. Ken Boettger Ellensburg, WA Alpine WildSeed Zone: 1-2 USDA zones warmer than it was 15 years ago and as confirmed by NOAA data at our airport (20 degree warmer winters and 20 degree warmer summers than we traditionally had from the early 1900s through the 1980s). If we go 2 more zones in the next 15 years, we're toast! I do not think people understand how serious this is.