Elymus lanceolatus
Elymus pringlei
streambank wheatgrass, streamside wild rye, thick-spike wildrye, thickspike wheatgrass
Mexican wildrye
22-130 cm, erect;
nodes glabrous.
50-110 cm, erect or somewhat geniculate at the base;
nodes 6-9, mostly exposed, 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.
evenly distributed;
sheaths usually glabrous, occasionally pilose, hairs somewhat retrorse;
auricles about 1 mm, pale or brownish;
ligules about 1 mm, erase;
blades 3-12 mm wide, lax, adaxial surfaces sparsely scabridulous, sometimes hispidulous to pilose on the veins, usually glaucous.
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.
4-12 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, erect, the bases sometimes sheathed, with 2 spikelets per node;
internodes 3-6 mm, about 0.2 mm thick at the thinnest sections, with 2 hispid dorsal angles, without green lateral bands.
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.
10-15 mm excluding the awns, 18-30 mm including the awns, appressed, with 3-5(6) florets, lowest florets functional;
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.
subequal, 12-22 mm long including the undifferentiated awns, 0.2-0.3(0.6) mm wide, setaceous, entire, 0-1(2)-veined, tapering from the base, glabrous, margins firm, awns more or less straight;
lemmas 8-10 mm, usually scabrous-hispid or thinly strigose, at least distally, awns 8-22 mm, straight or flexuous;
paleas 7-8 mm, obtuse, often emarginate;
anthers 2.5-4 mm.
May to June.
= 28.
= unknown.
Elymus lanceolatus
Elymus pringlei
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 pringlei grows on moist slopes and canyons, in pine and deciduous tree woods, at 1500-2300 m in the Sierra Madre Orientale of eastern Mexico. This poorly known species is similar to E. texensis (see next) and E. interruptus (p. 306). It is included here because it seems likely that it also grows in southern Texas, having been collected in Coahuila, Mexico, 54 miles from the border, near Big Bend National Park (Campbell 2002).
(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 |
BC
OR
WA
CalFlora
Flora NW
IL Wildflowers
MI Flora
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
