Elymus curvatus
Elymus diversiglumis
awnless wild-rye, awnless wlldrye, beardless wild rye
diverseglume wildrye, unequal-glumed wildrye
60-110 cm, stiffly erect, or the base sometimes geniculate;
nodes 6-9, concealed or exposed, glabrous.
70-160 cm, erect;
nodes 4-9, mostly exposed, glabrous.
evenly distributed;
sheaths glabrous, often reddish brown;
auricles to 1 mm, sometimes absent;
ligules shorter than 1 mm, ciliolate;
blades 5-15 mm wide, the lower blades usually lax, shorter, narrower, and senescing earlier, the upper blades usually ascending and somewhat involute, adaxial surfaces smooth or scabridulous, occasionally scabrous.
evenly distributed;
sheaths glabrous, often purplish;
auricles 1-2 mm, purplish or brownish black;
ligules usually 1-2 mm;
blades 5-17 mm wide, lax, adaxial surfaces usually pilose, at least on the veins, occasionally scabrous.
9-15 cm long, (0.5)0.7-1.3 cm wide, erect, exserted or the bases slightly sheathed, with 2 spikelets per node;
internodes 2.5-4.5 mm long, about 0.25-5 mm thick at the thinnest sections, smooth or scabrous beneath the spikelets.
8-28 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, nodding to pendent, with 2 spikelets per node, rarely with 1 or 3 at a few nodes;
internodes 4-6(9) mm long, 0.2-0.3 mm thick at the thinnest sections, margins and summits often pubescent.
10-15 mm, appressed, often reddish brown at maturity, with (2)3-4(5) florets, lowest florets functional;
disarticulation below the glumes and beneath the florets, or the lowest floret falling with the glumes.
10-16 mm, appressed, with 2-4(5) florets, lowest florets functional;
disarticulation above the glumes, beneath each floret.
equal or subequal, the basal 2-3 mm terete, indurate, strongly bowed out, without evident venation, glume bodies 7-15 mm long, 1.2-2.1 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, widening above the base, 3-5-veined, usually glabrous or scabrous, occasionally hispidulous, rarely hirsute on the veins, margins firm, awns 0-3(5) mm;
lemmas 6-10 mm, glabrous or scabrous, rarely hirsute, awns (0.5)1-3(4) mm, rarely 5-10 mm on the lemmas of the distal spikelets, straight;
paleas 6-10 mm, obtuse, often emarginate;
anthers 1.5-3 mm.
usually differing in length by at least (3)4 mm, occasionally obsolete, (1)2-15(20) mm long including the undifferentiated awns, indurate at the base, (0.1)0.2-0.4(0.6) mm wide, setaceous, 0-1-veined, tapering from the base, scabrous or hispidulous at least towards the apices, margins firm, awns often outcurving;
lemmas 7-12 mm, usually silvery-hirsute to sericeous, occasionally hirtellous or strigose, at least near the margins, backs sometimes scabrous, awns 18-35 mm, moderately to strongly outcurving at maturity;
paleas 7-10 mm, obtuse, occasionally emarginate;
anthers 2-4 mm.
late June to mid-August.
from early June to late July.
= 28, 42.
= 28.
Elymus curvatus
Elymus diversiglumis
Elymus curvatus grows in moist or damp soils of open forests, thickets, grasslands, ditches, and disturbed ground, especially on bottomland. It is widespread from British Columbia and Washington, through the Intermountain region and northern Rockies, to the northern Great Plains. It is infrequent or rare in the midwest, the Great Lakes region, and the northeast, and is virtually unknown in the southeast. It is similar to E. virginicus (p. 298), and has sometimes been included in that species as E. virginicus var. submuticus Hook., but is more distinct than the varieties of E. virginicus treated above. Although E. virginicus and E. curvatus overlap greatly in range, E. curvatus usually has a distinct growth form, and its anthesis is 1-2 weeks later (Brooks 1974). Its spikes range from being completely exserted, especially west of the Great Plains, to largely sheathed, especially east of the Mississippi River and in more stressed environments. This geographic trend parallels that within E. virginicus, but sheathed plants of E. curvatus can usually be distinguished by their short awns. Clear transitions to E. virginicus, usually var. jejunus, are rare, but, especially from Missouri to Wisconsin, there are occasional plants with 5-10 mm awns on a few lemmas, especially at the spike tips. Rarely, plants from Missouri and Iowa to Quebec have hispid to hirsute spikelets, suggesting introgression with E. virginicus var. intermedius. There are a few records of apparent hybrids with other species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Elymus diversiglumis grows in moist to dry, often base-rich and alluvial soils, in open woods, woodland margins, and thickets in the northern Great Plains, from Saskatchewan and Manitoba to Wyoming, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
Elymus diversiglumis is a variable species that, like E. svensonii (p. 314) and E. churchii (p. 314), may have originated from hybrids between E. canadensis var. canadensis (p. 305) and E. hystrix (see next), although part of its range extends further west than the current distribution of the latter species. Elymus diversiglumis usually reaches anthesis 2-4 weeks earlier than sympatric populations of E. canadensis. Church (1954, 1958, 1967a) found that most artificial canadensis-hystrix hybrids, as well as some plants of E. diversiglumis itself, are sterile. Those that were not sterile could occasionally form fertile backcrosses with E. canadensis and, to a lesser extent, with E. hystrix. Introgressant populations involving all three species are known. Artificial crosses with other species have not been successful.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
IL Wildflowers
MI Flora
MN Wildflowers
MO Plants
