Elymus lanceolatus
Elymus alaskanus
streambank wheatgrass, streamside wild rye, thick-spike wildrye, thickspike wheatgrass
Alaska wild rye, alaskan wheatgrass, ellisia
22-130 cm, erect;
nodes glabrous.
20-90 cm, sometimes decumbent at the base, ascending to erect above;
nodes usually pubescent, sometimes glabrous.
often mostly basal, sometimes more evenly distributed;
sheaths glabrous or pubescent;
auricles usually present on the lower leaves, 0.5-1.5 mm;
ligules 0.1-0.5 mm, erose, sometimes ciliolate;
blades 1.5-6 mm wide, generally involute, abaxial surfaces usually glabrous, adaxial surfaces strigose, ribs subequal in size and spacing.
sometimes basally concentrated;
sheaths smooth or scabrous, glabrous or pilose;
auricles absent or to 0.5 mm;
ligules 0.2-1 mm, erose, ciliolate;
blades 3-7 mm wide, flat, both surfaces smooth, scabrous, or pubescent.
3.5-26 cm long, 0.5-1 cm wide, erect to slightly nodding, usually with 1 spikelet per node, sometimes with 2 at a few nodes;
internodes 3.5-15 mm long, 0.1-0.8 mm wide, glabrous or hairy.
3.5-14 cm long, 0.5-0.8 cm wide, erect or nodding distally, usually with 1 spikelet per node, occasionally with 2 at the lower nodes;
internodes 3-10 mm long, 0.5-0.8 mm wide, mostly glabrous and smooth, edges scabrous or ciliate.
8-31 mm, 1.5-3 times longer than the internodes, appressed, with 3-11 florets;
rachillas glabrous or hairy, hairs to 1 mm;
disarticulation above the glumes, beneath each floret.
9-15(20) mm, 2-5 times longer than the internodes, appressed, with 3-6 florets, rachillas hispidulous;
disarticulation above the glumes, beneath each floret.
subequal, 5-14 mm long, 1/2 - 3/4 the length of the adjacent lemmas, 0.7-1.3 mm wide, lanceolate, glabrous or hairy, smooth or scabrous, 3-5-veined, flat or weakly, often asymmetrically keeled, keels straight, margins narrow, tapering from the base or from beyond midlength, apices acute to acuminate, sometimes mucronate or shortly awned;
lemmas 7-12 mm, glabrous or hairy, hairs all alike, sometimes scabrous, acute to awn-tipped, awns to 2 mm, straight;
paleas about equal to the lemmas, keels straight below the apices, smooth or scabrous proximally, sometimes hairy, scabrous distally, intercostal region glabrous or with hairs, apices 0.2-0.3 mm wide;
anthers (2.5)3-6 mm.
4-8 mm long, (1.2)1.5-2 mm wide, 1/3-2/3 as long as the adjacent lemmas, oblanceolate to obovate, flat, usually purplish, glabrous or hairy, hairs 0.3-0.5 mm, margins unequal, the widest margin 0.4-1 mm wide, both margins widest above the middle, apices unawned or awned, awns to 1 mm;
lemmas 7-11 mm, glabrous or hairy, sometimes scabridulous, sometimes more densely hairy distally, hairs 0.2-0.6 mm, all alike, apices unawned or awned, awns to 7 mm, straight;
paleas subequal to the lemmas, keels straight below the apices;
anthers 1-2 mm.
= 28.
= 28.
Elymus lanceolatus
Elymus alaskanus
Elymus lanceolatus grows in sand and clay soils and dry to mesic habitats. It is found primarily in the western half of the Flora region, between the coastal mountains and 95° W longitude, with the exception of E. lanceolatus subsp. psammophilus, which extends around the Great Lakes. Three subspecies are recognized, primarily on the basis of their lemma and palea pubescence.
Elymus lanceolatus is primarily outcrossing, and hybridizes with several species of Triticeae. Elymus albicans (p. 334) is thought to be derived from hybridization with the awned phase of Pseudoroegneria spicata (p. 281). Judging from specimens of controlled hybrids, hybridization with E. trachycaulus (p. 321) and unawned plants of P. spicata probably occur, but would be almost impossible to detect without careful observation in the field. Experimental hybrids are partially fertile, and capable of backcrossing to either parent (Dewey 1965, 1967, 1968, 1975, 1976).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Elymus alaskanus extends across the high arctic of North America to extreme eastern Russia. This treatment interprets E. alaskanus as having relatively short glumes, in accordance with its treatment by Hulten (1968). Large specimens resemble E. macrourus (see previous), but differ in the shape of their glumes and in their wider glume margins. Elymus alaskanus differs from E. trachycaulus (p. 321) in its greater cold tolerance and the distal widening of its glume margins. There is some intergradation, particularly with E. violaceus (p. 324) and E. trachycaulus, but these species have longer glumes. Moreover, in western North America, E. violaceus is restricted to rocky habitats at or above treeline, whereas E. alaskanus is often associated with valleys and flat areas. Reports of its extending to New Mexico are based on the inclusion of high-elevation forms of E. trachycaulus.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Lemmas densely hairy, hairs flexible, some 1 mm long or longer | subsp. psammophilus |
1. Lemmas glabrous or with stiff hairs shorter than 1 mm. | → 2 |
2. Lemmas with hairs, not scabrous | subsp. lanceolatus |
2. Lemmas smooth, sometimes scabrous distally, mosdy glabrous, sometimes the lemma margins hairy proximally | subsp. riparius |
1. Glumes glabrous, scabrous or sparsely hairy, hairs to about 0.2 mm long; lemmas glabrous or with hairs to about 0.2 mm long | subsp. alaskanus |
1. Glumes and lemmas densely hairy, hairs 0.2-0.5 mm long | subsp. hyperarcticus |
BC
OR
WA
CalFlora
Flora NW
IL Wildflowers
MI Flora
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
