Elymus macgregorii
Elymus sierrae
early wild-rye
Sierra wheatgrass, Sierra wildrye
40-120 cm, erect or slightly decumbent;
nodes 4-8, mostly exposed, glabrous.
20-50 cm, prostrate or decumbent and geniculate;
nodes 1-2, 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.
basally concentrated;
sheaths glabrous;
auricles usually present, to 1 mm on the lower leaves;
ligules 0.2-0.5 mm, erose;
blades 1-5 mm wide, flat, abaxial surfaces smooth, glabrous, adaxial surfaces prominently ridged over the veins, with scattered hairs, hairs to 0.2 mm, veins closely spaced.
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.
5-15 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide including the awns, 0.7-1.2 cm wide excluding the awns, flexuous, erect to nodding distally, with 1 spikelet at most nodes, occasionally some of the lower nodes with 2 spikelets;
internodes 5-15 mm long, 0.2-0.5 mm wide, both surfaces glabrous, edges ciliate, not scabrous.
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.
15-20 mm, ascending to divergent, with 3-7 florets;
rachillas glabrous;
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.
subequal, 6-9 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, lanceolate, glabrous, the bases evidently veined, apices entire, tapering into a 3-10 mm awn;
lemmas 12-16 mm, glabrous, sometimes scabridulous, apices bidentate, awned, awns 15-30 mm, arcuately diverging to strongly recurved;
paleas subequal to the lemmas, apices about 0.4 mm wide;
anthers 2-3.5 mm.
usually mid-May to mid-June.
= 28.
= 28.
Elymus macgregorii
Elymus sierrae
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 sierrae is best known from rocky slopes and ridgetops in the Sierra Nevada, at 2100-3400 m, and is also found in Washington and Oregon. It resembles E. scribneri (see previous), differing in its non-disarticulating rachises, longer rachis internodes, and longer anthers. Hybrids with E. elymoides (p. 318) have glumes with awns 15+ mm long, and some spikelets with narrower glume bases and shorter anthers. Specimens with wide-margined glumes suggest hybridization with E. violaceus (p. 324).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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