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big squirreltail, big squirreltail grass

Sierra wheatgrass, Sierra wildrye

Habit Plants cespitose, not rhizomatous. Plants cespitose, not rhizomatous.
Culms

15-65 cm, erect to ascending, usually puberulent;

nodes 4-6, mostly concealed, glabrous.

20-50 cm, prostrate or decumbent and geniculate;

nodes 1-2, exposed, glabrous.

Leaves

evenly distributed;

sheaths glabrous or white-villous;

auricles usually present, 0.5-1.5 mm;

ligules to 1 mm, truncate, entire or lacerate;

blades 1.5-4(5) mm wide, often ascending and involute, adaxial surfaces scabrous, pilose, or 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.

Spikes

5-20 cm long, 5-15 cm wide, erect, sometimes partially enclosed at the base, with 2 spikelets per node, rarely with 3-4 at some nodes;

internodes 3-5(8) mm long, 0.1-0.3 mm thick at the thinnest sections, glabrous 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.

Spikelets

10-15 mm, divergent, with 2-4 florets, lowest florets sterile and glumelike in 1 or both spikelets at each node;

disarticulation initially at the rachis nodes, subsequently beneath each floret.

15-20 mm, ascending to divergent, with 3-7 florets;

rachillas glabrous;

disarticulation above the glumes, beneath each floret.

Glumes

subequal, (10)30-100 mm including the awns, the bases indurate and glabrous, glume bodies (2)5-10 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, setaceous, 2-3-veined, margins firm, awns (8)25-90 mm, each split into 3-9 unequal divisions, scabrous, flexuous to outcurving from near the glume bases at maturity;

fertile lemmas 8-10 mm, smooth or scabrous near the apices, 2 lateral veins extending into bristles to 10 mm, awns (10)20-110 mm long, about 0.2 mm wide at the base, divergent to arcuate;

paleas 7-9 mm, veins usually extending into about 1 mm bristles, apices acute to truncate;

anthers 1-2 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.

Anthesis

from late May to June.

2n

= 28.

= 28.

Elymus multisetus

Elymus sierrae

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Elymus multisetus grows in dry, often rocky, open woods and thickets on slopes and plains, from central Washington and Idaho to southern California, Colorado, and northwestern Arizona, and from sea level to 2000 m. It has also been reported from Baja California, Mexico. It usually grows in less arid habitats than E. elymoides subsp. elymoides (p. 319), but the two taxa are sometimes sympatric.

Wilson (1963) reported a wide belt of introgression between Elymus multisetus and E. elymoides subsp. elymoides from southeastern California to southern Nevada, but not in other areas where they are sympatric. There are also probable hybrids with E. glaucus (p. 306) and Pseudoroegneria spicata (p. 281).

(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.)

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 318. FNA vol. 24, p. 332.
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. lanceolatus, E. macgregorii, E. macrourus, 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. repens, E. riparius, E. scribneri, E. semicostatus, E. sibiricus, 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
Synonyms Agropyron pringlei
Name authority (J.G. Sm.) Burtt Davy Gould
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