Elymus lanceolatus
Elymus sibiricus
streambank wheatgrass, streamside wild rye, thick-spike wildrye, thickspike wheatgrass
Siberian wildrye
22-130 cm, erect;
nodes glabrous.
40-150 cm, erect or slightly geniculate at the base;
nodes 6-9, usually 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
10-18 mm, appressed to divergent, usually becoming purplish, with (3)4-5(7) 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.
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.
from June to July.
= 28.
= 28.
Elymus lanceolatus
Elymus sibiricus
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 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.)
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
