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streambank wheatgrass, streamside wild rye, thick-spike wildrye, thickspike wheatgrass

chiendent, chiendent rampant, couch grass, creeping wild-rye, quack grass, quackgrass wildrye

Habit Plants strongly rhizomatous, sometimes glaucous. Plants strongly rhizomatous, sometimes glaucous.
Culms

22-130 cm, erect;

nodes glabrous.

50-100 cm.

Leaves

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 somewhat basally concentrated;

sheaths pilose or glabrous proximally;

auricles 0.3-1 mm;

ligules 0.25-1.5 mm;

blades 6-10 mm wide, usually flat, abaxial surfaces glabrous or sparsely pilose, adaxial surfaces usually sparsely pilose over the veins, sometimes glabrous, veins smooth, widely spaced, primary veins prominent, separated by the secondary veins.

Spikes

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.

5-15 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, erect, usually with 1 spikelet per node, occasionally with 2 at a few nodes;

internodes 4-6(9.5) mm long, 0.5-1.2 mm wide, smooth or scabrous, glabrous, evenly puberulent, or sparsely pilose, hairs to 0.3 mm.

Spikelets

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.

10-27 mm, appressed to ascending, with 4-7 florets;

disarticulation above the glumes, beneath each floret.

Glumes

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.

oblong, glabrous, keeled distally, keels inconspicuous and smooth proximally, scabrous and conspicuous distally, lateral veins inconspicuous, hyaline margins present in the distal 1/2, apices acute, unawned or awned, awns to 3 mm;

lower glumes 8.8-11.4 mm, 3-6-veined;

upper glumes 7-12 mm, 5-7-veined;

lemmas 8-12 mm, glabrous, mostly smooth, sometimes scabridulous distally, unawned or with a 0.2-4(10) mm awn, awns straight;

paleas 7-9.5 mm, keels ciliate from 1/2 to almost the entire length, apices emarginate, truncate, or rounded;

anthers 4-7 mm.

2n

= 28.

= 22, 42.

Elymus lanceolatus

Elymus repens

Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; IL; MI; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OR; SD; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; ON; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Greenland
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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 repens is native to Eurasia; it is now established through much of the Flora region, extending from Alaska to Greenland and south to California, Texas, and North Carolina. It grows well in disturbed sites, spreading rapidly via its long rhizomes, as well as by seed. It is also drought tolerant. Although it is listed a noxious weed in several states, it provides good forage. It differs from E. hoffmannii (see next) in having widely spaced, unequally prominent leaf veins and, usually, shorter awns.

Godley (1947) demonstrated that lemma awn development, glaucousness, and the pubescence of the rachises are each effectively controlled by single genes. Long-awned plants are homozygous recessive, and awn-tipped plants homozygous dominant; glaucousness is dominant over non-glaucousness, and glabrous rachises over pubescent rachises. Awned plants appear to be established along the coasts of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. They have generally been identified as Agropyron pungens (Pers.) Roem. & Schult., a species that has obtuse, mucronate lemmas.

Elymus repens is almost always a hexaploid. Most studies indicate that its genomic constitution is StStH, but Mason-Gamer (2001) demonstrated that it is genetically more complex than is implied by such a simple formula.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
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
Source FNA vol. 24, p. 327. FNA vol. 24, p. 334.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Triticeae > Elymus Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Triticeae > Elymus
Sibling taxa
E. alaskanus, E. albicans, E. arizonicus, E. bakeri, E. canadensis, E. caninus, E. churchii, E. ciliaris, E. curvatus, E. dahuricus, E. diversiglumis, E. elymoides, E. glabriflorus, E. glaucus, E. hirsutus, E. hoffmannii, E. hystrix, E. interruptus, E. macgregorii, E. macrourus, E. multisetus, E. pringlei, E. repens, E. riparius, E. scribneri, E. semicostatus, E. sibiricus, E. sierrae, E. stebbinsii, E. svensonii, E. texensis, E. trachycaulus, E. tsukushiensis, E. villosus, E. violaceus, E. virginicus, E. wawawaiensis, E. wiegandii, E. ×cayouetteorum, E. ×ebingeri, E. ×hansenii, E. ×palmerensis, E. ×pinalenoensis, E. ×pseudorepens, E. ×saundersii, E. ×yukonensis
E. alaskanus, E. albicans, E. arizonicus, E. bakeri, E. canadensis, E. caninus, E. churchii, E. ciliaris, E. curvatus, E. dahuricus, E. diversiglumis, E. elymoides, E. glabriflorus, E. glaucus, E. hirsutus, E. hoffmannii, E. hystrix, E. interruptus, E. lanceolatus, E. macgregorii, E. macrourus, E. multisetus, E. pringlei, E. riparius, E. scribneri, E. semicostatus, E. sibiricus, E. sierrae, E. stebbinsii, E. svensonii, E. texensis, E. trachycaulus, E. tsukushiensis, E. villosus, E. violaceus, E. virginicus, E. wawawaiensis, E. wiegandii, E. ×cayouetteorum, E. ×ebingeri, E. ×hansenii, E. ×palmerensis, E. ×pinalenoensis, E. ×pseudorepens, E. ×saundersii, E. ×yukonensis
Subordinate taxa
E. lanceolatus subsp. lanceolatus, E. lanceolatus subsp. psammophilus, E. lanceolatus subsp. riparius
Synonyms Agropyron dasystachyum var. riparium, Agropyron dasystachyum Elytrigia repens forma aristata, Elytrigia repens, Agropyron repens var. vaillantianum, Agropyron repens forma vaillantianum, Agropyron repens var. typicum, Agropyron repens forma trichorrhachis, Agropyron repens var. subulatum, Agropyron repens forma setiferum, Agropyron repens var. pilosum, Agropyron repens forma heberhachis, Agropyron repens forma aristatum, Agropyron repens
Name authority (Scribn. & J.G. Sm.) Gould (L.) Gould
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