Elymus (wild rye)

Elymus is a genus of perennial grasses in the tribe which contains many of the main cereal grains. Plants of this genus are known generally as wild rye or wheatgrass. There are at least 150 species in this genus.


Selected species
Elymus californicus is a species of wild rye known by the common name California bottlebrush grass. This grass is endemic to California where it is an uncommon species known from a few counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. It grows between one and two meters in height. The tall, erect stem is nearly naked, bearing the occasional sheathing leaf with a blade 10 to 20 centimeters long. It bears an erect inflorescence which curves as it becomes heavier in grain. Each inflorescence is divided into three or four nodes with three or four spikelets per node. Each spikelet is between one and two centimeters long, not counting a long awn about two centimeters long.

Elymus canadensis is a species of wild rye known by the common name Canada wild rye. This grass is native to much of North America, being most abundant in the central plains. It grows in a number of ecosystems, including riparian woodlands, many types of forest, lakeside sand dunes, and tallgrass prairie. This is a perennial bunch grass reaching heights of one to one and a half meters. It grows from a small rhizome, forms a shallow, fine root network, and is a facultative mycotroph, receiving about 25% of its nutrients on average from symbiotic mycorrhizae. Its stems are hollow and tough at maturity and bear rough, flat leaves reaching 20 to 30 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a nodding spike up to 25 centimeters long containing 5 to 20 spikelets. Each spikelet is one or two centimeters long, not counting the sharp, hard, curling awn which may exceed three centimeters in length. This grass is sometimes used for stabilizing eroded areas and for vegetating metal-rich soils in reclaimed mines.

Elymus elymoides is a species of wild rye known by the common name squirreltail. This grass is native to most of North America west of the Mississippi River. It occurs in a number of ecosystems, from alpine forest to desert sage scrub to valley grassland. It is a perennial bunch grass growing to around half a meter in height. Its erect solid stems have flat or rolled leaf blades. The inflorescence is up to 15 centimeters long and somewhat stiff and erect, with spikelets one or two centimeters long not counting the awn, which may be 9 centimeters long and sticks straight out, making the inflorescence look like a bottlebrush. This grass is considered a very good forage for sheep. It is best for grazing during the winter, when it is small and green. It becomes less palatable to livestock when its awns grow long and sharp at maturity.

Elymus glaucus is a species of wild rye known by the common name blue wild rye. This grass is native to North America from Alaska to New York to northern Mexico. It is a common and widespread species of wild rye. This is a perennial bunch grass growing small, narrow tufts of several erect stems which exceed one half meter in height and may approach one and a half meters. It has a thick, fibrous root system, sometimes with rhizomes, the stems may form stolons. It has flat leaves each up to a centimeter wide at the base and rapidly narrowing to a point. The tip of the stem is occupied by a narrow, pointed inflorescence many centimeters long made up of a few spikelets. Each spikelet is one to one and a half centimeters long, not counting an awn which may be two or three centimeters in length.

Elymus mollis - American dunegrass, dune wild rye

Elymus hystrix (bottlebrush grass)

Elymus alaskanus - Alaskan wheatgrass

Elymus cinereus - Giant wild rye, Basin wild rye

Elymus sibericus - Siberian ryegrass

Elymus albicans - Montana wheatgrass

Elymus macrourus - tufted wheatgrass

Elymus multisetus - big squirrelgrass

Elymus trachycaulus - slender wheatgrass

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