Virginia wildrye

Elymus virginicus

Poaceae


Description

Stems grow in small clusters. Leaves are usually hairless. The inflorescence is a stiffly erect, bristly spike 2 to 6 inches long and often partly included in the upper sheath. Glumes are yellowish, hard, and bowed out at the base. Lemma awns usually are no more than 1 inch long. A grass of open rangeland if moisture is adequate.

Virginia wildrye is a perennial, cool-season, native - 24 to 48 inches tall.

Good grazing for livestock. Fair grazing for wildlife.


Habitat

Grows on shaded banks, fence rows and open woodlands.


Images