Elymus macgregorii
Elymus sibiricus
early wild-rye
Siberian wildrye
40-120 cm, erect or slightly decumbent;
nodes 4-8, mostly exposed, glabrous.
40-150 cm, erect or slightly geniculate at the base;
nodes 6-9, usually exposed, glabrous.
evenly distributed;
sheaths usually glabrous, rarely villous;
auricles 2-3 mm, usually purplish black when fresh, sometimes light brown;
ligules shorter than 1 mm;
blades 7-15 mm wide, lax, dark glossy green under the glaucous bloom, adaxial surfaces usually glabrous, occasionally villous.
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.
4-12 cm long, (1.7)2.2-3(4)4 cm wide, erect, exserted, with (6)9-16(20) nodes and 2 spikelets at all or most nodes, sometimes with 3 at some nodes;
internodes 4-7 mm long, about 0.3 mm thick and 2-angled at the thinnest sections, usually glabrous or scabridulous beneath the spikelets.
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.
10-15 mm, strongly divergent, glaucous, maturing to pale yellowish brown, with (2)3-4 florets, lowest florets functional;
disarticulation below the glumes and each floret, the lowest floret often falling with the glumes.
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, entire, the basal 1-3 mm terete or subterete, indurate, without evident venation, moderately bowed out, glume bodies 8-16 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide, linear-lanceolate, widening or parallel-sided above the base, (2)4-5(8)-veined, usually glabrous, occasionally hirsute, sometimes scabrous, margins firm, awns (10)15-20(25) mm, straight except the awns of the lowest spikelets occasionally contorted;
lemmas 6-12 mm, usually glabrous, sometimes scabrous, occasionally villous, awns (15)20-30 mm, straight;
paleas 6-10 mm, apices obtuse;
anthers 2-4 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.
usually mid-May to mid-June.
from June to July.
= 28.
= 28.
Elymus macgregorii
Elymus sibiricus
Elymus macgregorii grows in moist, deep, alluvial or residual, calcareous or other base-rich soils in woods and thickets, mostly east of the 100th Meridian in the contiguous United States. It used to be confused with E. glabriflorus (p. 296) or E. virginicus (p. 298), but it reaches anthesis about a month earlier than sympatric populations of these species. In most of its range, E. macgregorii has purplish black auricles; light brown auricles may be locally abundant, particularly in populations at the limits of its range.
Elymus macregorii hybridizes with several species, but especially E. virginicus and E. hystrix (p. 316) (Campbell 2000). Western plants often have smaller, more condensed spikes and distinctly villous leaves, suggesting a transition to E. virginicus var. jejunus (p. 300). Transitions to E. virginicus var. jejunus can also be recognized to the north, where the dates of anthesis are delayed, but even in Maine, E. macgregorii reaches anthesis about 10 days earlier than E. virginicus (Campbell and Haines 2002). Plants with villous lemmas grow at scattered locations; they have not been reported in distinct habitats, nor in large enough populations to warrant taxonomic recognition.
(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.)
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