Elymus curvatus
Elymus svensonii
awnless wild-rye, awnless wlldrye, beardless wild rye
svenson's wildrye, Syenson's wildrye
60-110 cm, stiffly erect, or the base sometimes geniculate;
nodes 6-9, concealed or exposed, glabrous.
50-110 cm, erect;
nodes 6-8, mostly exposed, often reddish brown, 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 villous, often somewhat purplish;
auricles 1-2 mm, purplish or reddish brown;
ligules to 1 mm, often reddish brown;
blades 4-8(10) mm wide, lax, usually pale green, adaxial surfaces usually villous.
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.
10-16 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, nodding, with 2 spikelets per node;
internodes (4)6-10(12) mm long, about 0.2 mm thick at the thinnest sections, flexuous, glabrous, without green lateral bands.
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, usually appressed, with (3)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 more than 5 mm, sometimes vestigial to absent from the upper spikelets or throughout, (0)1-15(18) mm long including the undifferentiated awns, indurate at the base, 0.1-0.3 mm wide, setaceous to subulate, entire, 0-1-veined, tapering from the base, glabrous, margins firm, awns often curving outward;
lemmas 8-10 mm, glabrous, veins occasionally hispidulous near the lemma apices, awns (8)10-20(25) mm, moderately to strongly outcurving at maturity;
paleas 7-9 mm, obtuse or truncate, occasionally emarginate;
anthers 3-5 mm.
late June to mid-August.
from mid-June to early July.
= 28, 42.
= unknown.
Elymus curvatus
Elymus svensonii
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 svensonii grows in dry, rocky soils in open woods of the interior low plateaus, mostly along bluffs of the Kentucky River and its tributaries in the bluegrass region of Kentucky, and along bluffs of the Cumberland River and its Caney Fork in the central basin of Tennessee. Most sites are on Ordovician limestone, but its discovery by Natural Heritage programs in Kentucky along the Green River on Mississippian limestone, and in Tennessee along the Piney River on Silurian limestone, suggest that it may be more widespread. It has been a candidate for federal protection in the United States.
Elymus svensonii, like E. diversiglumis (p. 316) and E. cburchii (see next), may be derived from hybrids between E. hystrix (p. 316) and E. canadensis (p. 303) (Church 1967a), even though E. canadensis currently has its eastern limit 50-100 miles west of most E. svensonii.
Elymus svensonii hybridizes naturally with E. hystrix, E. virginicus (p. 298) and other species of Elymus. Plants with little glume development are frequent; they appear to be introgressed by E. hystrix. Artificial crosses with E. interruptus (p. 306) have been successful, but those with E. diversiglumis have not (Church 1967a). Elymus svensonii resembles E. churchii; it differs in having less open spikes, shorter awns, more florets per spikelet, and more pubescent, glaucous foliage.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
MO Plants
