Elymus lanceolatus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Pooideae |
Genus: | Elymus |
Species: | E. lanceolatus |
Binomial name | |
Elymus lanceolatus | |
Synonyms | |
Agropyron dasystachyum |
Elymus lanceolatus is a species of grass known by the common names thickspike wheatgrass [1] [2] and streamside wheatgrass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and abundant in much of Canada and the western and central United States. There are two subspecies, subsp. lanceolatus occurring throughout the species' range and subsp. psammophilus occurring in the Great Lakes region. [3]
Elymus lanceolatus subsp. lanceolatus is a perennial, rhizomatous grass. It has a moderate growth rate and is shade intolerant. It is available commercially. [2]
This grass produces hollow, erect stems up to 1.3 metres (4.3 feet) tall. The grass grows from a dense network of roots and rhizomes thickly intertwined to form a sod. The leaves are up to 25 centimetres (9.8 inches) long and .5 cm (0.20 in) wide and are flat or slightly rolled at the edges. In dry, hot weather the leaves roll completely into cylindrical shapes. The inflorescence is a narrow, compact spike at the top of the stem, measuring up to 22 cm (8.7 in) long. Each spikelet may have 2 to 11 flowers. [3]
Elymus lanceolatus is polymorphic, [2] there are two subspecies: subsp. lanceolatus occurring throughout the species' range and subsp. psammophilus occurring in the Great Lakes region. [3]
This species can hybridize with some other grass species, bluebunch wheatgrass ( Pseudoroegneria spicata ) and slender wheatgrass ( Elymus trachycaulus ). [3]
This plant is native to semiarid regions. [1] The plant grows in areas with 200-500 millimeters (8-20 inches) of annual precipitation. [3] It is common and dominant in a number of habitat types in all stages of ecological succession. It can be found in forests, woodlands, sagebrush, shrubsteppe, desert, sandy lakeshores and sand dunes, and a wide variety of grassland and prairie ecosystems. It takes hold easily in disturbed areas such as roadsides. [3] It is capable of growing in high altitude regions of the Rocky Mountains or at sea level near the Great Lakes in the United States. [2] Though it rarely forms large monotypic stands, small pure stands of the species are common. It is highly drought-resistant and tolerant of wildfire and grazing pressure. [3]
The bloom period for E. lanceolatus is mid-spring. [2] The plant often reproduces by seed, but in some areas, particularly in sandy substrates, it reproduces vegetatively by sprouting from its rhizome. New plants sprout from a soil seed bank, the seeds surviving in the soil for 3 to 4 years on average. [3]
E. lanceolatus is mycorrhizal. [4]
Elymus lanceolatus shows potential to be used for restoring grasslands. This can indirectly help human food consumption as E. lanceolatus may improve soil health. [5] Soil health may be improved because it produces a sod due to its ability to form grass root networks and rhizomes. [5] The term sod refers to grass which is held together by roots below soil. Plants may have a more difficult time forming rhizomes if there are neighboring roots nearby that would cause physical resistance. [1] This plant’s growth is increased by removing other plants nearby and planting at a moderate density around 300-600 seeds/m2. [5]
Wheatgrass has also previously been shown to be beneficial for forage uses. This may be because it can be seeded with legumes in both warm and cool seasons [6] . Elymus lanceolatus has specifically been used for animal foraging. [2] Though E. lanceolatus does not produce a nut or berry product, it can be consumed by grazing animals. In the spring, it is a preferred food source for elk, horses, and cattle. [2] It is additionally beneficial because it has a rapid vegetative spread rate even though its rate of spreading seeds is slow. Humans have not eaten E. lanceolatus because studies suggest that it may inedible for human consumption. However, it has a medium protein nutritive potential. Its protein levels are highest in the spring, at around 20%. This protein content decreases to about 4% as the plant matures. The amount of carbohydrates that can be digested (in animals) are about 45% in the growth period of E. lanceolatus. [2] The USDA Plants Profile page suggests that E. lanceolatus is not palatable to humans. [2]
This grass makes a good forage for livestock, particularly when it is young and succulent. [3] This grass may also be used for foraging in the summer season even though many other grass species are past their optimal nutritive and productive period. [7] Wildlife such as elk also consume it. It is valuable for revegetation efforts in disturbed spaces such as pipeline construction sites and is good for rangeland rehabilitation. It is also used in urban areas. Its ability to form thick sod makes it good for erosion control, and the sod is so dense that many weeds are unable to invade stands of it. A number of cultivars have been introduced, such as 'Bannock,' 'Critana,' 'Elbee,' 'Schwendimar,' 'Secar,' and 'Sodar'. The grass, including its cultivars, has been shown to be effective at inhibiting the spread of weeds such as Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens) and diffuse knapweed (Centaurea diffusa). [3]
Because the plant produces a dense mat of rhizomes, deep roots, and can form dense stands, it is suitable for erosion control. [3] [8]
Andropogon gerardi, commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot.
Elymus repens, commonly known as couch grass, is a very common perennial species of grass native to most of Europe, Asia, the Arctic biome, and northwest Africa. It has been brought into other mild northern climates for forage or erosion control, but is often considered a weed.
Pascopyrum is a monotypic genus of grass containing the sole species Pascopyrum smithii, which is known by the common names western wheatgrass and red-joint wheatgrass, after the red coloration of the nodes. It is native to North America.
Bouteloua dactyloides, commonly known as buffalograss or a buffalo grass, is a North American prairie grass native to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a shortgrass found mainly on the High Plains and is co-dominant with blue grama over most of the shortgrass prairie.
Agropyron cristatum, the crested wheat grass, crested wheatgrass, fairway crested wheat grass, is a species in the family Poaceae. This plant is often used as forage and erosion control. It is well known as a widespread introduced species on the prairies of the United States and Canada.
Elymus elymoides is a species of wild rye known by the common name squirreltail. This grass is native to most of North America west of the Mississippi River and occurs in a number of ecosystems, from the alpine zone to desert sage scrub to valley grassland.
Pseudoroegneria spicata is a species of grass known by the common name bluebunch wheatgrass. This native western North American perennial bunchgrass is also known by the scientific synonyms Elymus spicatus and Agropyron spicatum. The grass can be found in the United States, Canada, and Mexico from Alaska and Yukon south as far as Sonora and Nuevo León.
Festuca idahoensis is a species of grass known by the common names Idaho fescue and blue bunchgrass. It is native to western North America, where it is widespread and common. It can be found in many ecosystems, from shady forests to open plains grasslands.
Thinopyrum intermedium, known commonly as intermediate wheatgrass, is a sod-forming perennial grass in the Triticeae tribe of Pooideae native to Europe and Western Asia. It is part of a group of plants commonly called wheatgrasses because of the similarity of their seed heads or ears to common wheat. However, wheatgrasses generally are perennial, while wheat is an annual. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit as an ornamental.
Elymus trachycaulus is a species of wild rye known by the common name slender wheatgrass. It is native to much of North America. It grows in widely varied habitats from northern Canada to Mexico, but is absent from most of the southeastern United States.
Tripsacum dactyloides, commonly called eastern gamagrass, or Fakahatchee grass, is a warm-season, sod-forming bunch grass. It is widespread in the Western Hemisphere, native from the eastern United States to northern South America. Its natural habitat is in sunny moist areas, such as along watercourses and in wet prairies. In some areas, it has adapted well to disturbed conditions.
Hilaria jamesii is a species of grass known by the common name James' galleta.
Calamovilfa longifolia is a species of grass known by the common names prairie sandreed and sand reedgrass. It is native to North America, where it occurs from the Northwest Territories to Ontario in Canada and as far south as New Mexico and Kansas in the United States. There are two varieties, var. longifolia being widespread in the species' range and var. magna being native to the Great Lakes region.
Calamagrostis montanensis is a species of grass known by the common names plains reedgrass and prairie reedgrass. It is native to North America, where it is found across Canada from British Columbia to Manitoba and south to Colorado in the United States.
Carex inops is a species of sedge known as long-stolon sedge and western oak sedge. It is native to northern North America, where it occurs throughout the southern half of Canada and the western and central United States.
Leymus salina is a species of grass known as Salina wildrye, Salina Pass wild rye, and saline wildrye. It is native to the western United States and is named for its type locality: Salina Pass, Utah.
Panicum repens is a species of grass known by many common names, including torpedograss, creeping panic, panic rampant, couch panicum, wainaku grass, quack grass, dog-tooth grass, and bullet grass. Its exact native range is obscure. Sources suggest that the grass is native to "Africa and/or Asia", "Europe or Australia", "Eurasia", "Australia", "Europe, Asia, and Africa", or other specific regions, including the Mediterranean, Israel, and Argentina. It is present in many places as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It has been called "one of the world's worst weeds."
Hilaria mutica, synonym Pleuraphis mutica, is a species of grass known by the common name tobosa, or tobosa grass. It is native to Northern Mexico, and the Southwestern United States, in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Elymus hoffmannii is a species of grass known by the common name RS wheatgrass. It was described as a new species in 1996. It became known to science when some grasses were collected in Turkey in 1979 and one type was successfully bred out, proving to be a natural hybrid. E. hoffmannii is derived from this hybrid between Elymus repens and the bluebunch wheatgrasses of Turkey, such as Pseudoroegneria spicata.
Elymus wawawaiensis is a species of grass known by the common name Snake River wheatgrass. It is native to western North America, where it occurs in the Pacific Northwest. It is native to eastern Washington and Oregon and parts of Idaho.