Elymus curvatus
Elymus sibiricus
awnless wild-rye, awnless wlldrye, beardless wild rye
Siberian wildrye
60-110 cm, stiffly erect, or the base sometimes geniculate;
nodes 6-9, concealed or exposed, glabrous.
40-150 cm, erect or slightly geniculate at the base;
nodes 6-9, usually 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 or hirsute, often purplish;
auricles to 1 mm, often absent;
ligules to 1 mm;
blades (3)5-14(16) mm wide, lax, adaxial surfaces usually pilose to hirsute on the veins, sometimes scabrous or smooth.
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.
7-30 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, flexuous, nodding to pendent, with (1)2(3-4) spikelets per node, solitary spikelets usually basal or distal, rarely occurring throughout;
internodes 5-10 mm long, 0.2-0.7 mm thick at the thinnest sections, mostly glabrous, sometimes scabrous below the spikelets, angles ciliate.
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.
10-18 mm, appressed to divergent, usually becoming purplish, with (3)4-5(7) 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.
equal or subequal, the bases flat, evidently veined, not indurate, glume bodies 3-8 mm long, 0.4-1(1.2) mm wide, linear-lanceolate to subsetaceous, entire, widening or parallel-sided above the base, 3(5)-veined, veins smooth or scabrous, margins hyaline or scarious, awns 1-6 mm, straight;
lemmas 8-13 mm, densely scabridulous to scabrous, at least along the outer veins, awns 10-25 mm, usually somewhat outcurving from near the base;
paleas 8-12 mm, keels spinose-ciliate, bidentate, apices acute, 0.15-0.3 mm wide between the veins;
anthers 0.9-1.7 mm.
late June to mid-August.
from June to July.
= 28, 42.
= 28.
Elymus curvatus
Elymus sibiricus
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 sibiricus grows in dry to damp grasslands and thickets, on slopes, eroding river banks, mud flats, coastal benches, dunes, clearings, and other disturbed areas, in southern Alaska, the southern Yukon Territory, the southwestern MacKenzie District in the Northwest Territories, and central British Columbia. Porsild and Cody (1980) suggested that at least some of the populations are native to North America. In a more extensive analysis, Bennett (2006) concluded that all North American populations are the result of recent introductions. The species is widespread in cool temperate regions of central and eastern Asia. In China, it is considered an excellent forage grass, having a high protein content.
North American plants differ from Asian plants in several respects: they are up to 150 cm tall, versus 90 cm in Asia; their leaves are usually pubescent, rather than glabrous to scabrous; and their lemmas are scabridulous to scabrous, rather than glabrous to strigulose or pilose.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
