Ethnobotanic: The soft, spongy stems of basket grass were traditionally used and are still used for basketweaving; the triangular stems are commonly used for the bottom and ‘ribs’ of the round, wrapped, and twined “grass” baskets made by first people of the west coast of Canada and Washington. Tribes using basket grass include the following; Nitinaht, Tsimshian, Kwakwaka’wakw, Swinomish (Skagit River delta area); Quinalt, Quileute, Hoh, Makah (all coastal); Suquamish (Puget Sound), S’kallam (Strait of Georgia and Hood Canal area); Lummi (Bellingham area); Nuu-chah-nuulth (Vancouver Island); Nlak’pamax (Thompson tribes); Tlinget and Haida (British Columbia), Twana (Skokomish), Chehalis, the coast Salish (Susquamish), possibly the Duwamish, Nisqually, and the Puyallup (Ryan pers. comm. 1999; Dublanica pers. comm. 1999; Storm pers. comm. 1999; Kunlein and Turner 1991). According to Teresa Ryan (1999), “Most of the Coast Salish used basket grass. My grandmother said that she heard stories about canoes coming to (Coastal Salish areas) to harvest basket grass. We are Tsimshian, from the Northcoast.”
Basket grass is apparently highly specialized in habitat. It occurs along the muddy shores and estuarine marshes of the Cheewhat River, the east coast of Vancouver Island, and the northwestern shore of Nitinak Lake in Canada (Kunlein and Turner 1991). In Washington, basket grass occurs in a large estuarine wetland in Bowerman Basin in Grays Harbor, Skagit Delta, Stilliguamish River, Port Susan area in northern Puget Sound, Willapa Bay, and the lower Columbia River (Dublanica pers comm. 1999). According to Teresa Ryan (1999) there are two basket grass locations left in Washington that are “harvestable:” Bowerman Basin and the Skagit River. Access has become an issue at Bowerman Basin due to constraints from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who manage the area as a wildlife refuge. The Skagit area populations have been threatened by Spartina species. Native people are concerned about the decline of basket grass and continued access to remaining populations.
The stems are harvested in August. When pulled, the stems simply break off at the base, making a sort of popping sound. Cutting of the materials should be strongly discouraged. The floral industry has been harvesting basket grass at Bowerman Basin through cutting the materials aboveground; areas have been observed in fairly large circular swaths leaving a stem of upwards of twelve inches above ground. After collecting stems, they are carefully bundled so that they will not bend, then carried home and laid out to dry. Once dried, they are sorted according to length and bundled for storage.
The pithy, cylindrical stalks were used to weave matting, as well as for bedding and roofing material. As thatching material, basket grass was spread out in bundles, tied together, then secured in place with poles.
Various indigenous peoples of Canada ate the fleshy rootstocks and rhizomes (Kunlein and Turner 1991). The Kwakiutl used the stalks and oil on a child’s head to make the hair grow long and thick (Moerman 1986).
Conservation: Basket grass or common threesquare is especially good for stabilizing or restoring disturbed or degraded areas, for erosion and slope control, and for wildlife food and cover. Where it occurs, it is widely distributed in wet ground.
Wildlife: The seeds, being less hairy and larger than cattail, are the choice food for wetland birds: baldpate, bufflehead, mallard, pintail, shoveler, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, greater scaup, lesser scaup, avocet, marbled godwit, clapper rail, Virginia rail, sora rail, long-billed dowacher, and tricolored blackbird (Martin et al. 1951). The stems provide nesting habitat for blackbirds and marsh wrens. Snow geese are known to utilize Schoenoplectus pungens on the Skagit Delta and Bowerman Basin on their migratory flights (Ewing 1982).