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- Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Leymus cinereus - basin wildrye

Synonyms: Elymus cinereus
Other Common Names: Great Basin wildrye, giant wildrye, Great Basin lyme grass
Plant Form: Grass

Family: Poaceae


   
 
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Seedheads
Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Spikelets
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  Grass Description -   Glossary of Grass Terminology


Origin: Native    Season: Warm
Habitat Description: Grows along streams, gullies, and roadsides, gravelly to sandy areas in sagebrush and open woodlands, moderately dry open places.
Plant Communities:Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Riparian, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 1950 - 9500 feet


General Description

Desc: Robust plants grow in clumps 1 to 3 feet wide, are rhizomatous and usually bright green. Stems are hairy, up to 7 feet tall, 1/4 inch thick and densely arranged. Basin wildrye is the largest cool-season perennial bunchgrass native to the western U.S.
Identification Notes: Strongly tufted; seedheads are thick spikes with mostly 2 to 4 spikelets per node; lemmas hairy, awnless or awned tipped, blades 3 to 12 mm wide; culms 70 to 270 cm tall.
Grass Type: Perennial bunchgrass  Rhizomes: Y  Stolons: N
Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): Y  Bushy (highly branched): N
Height with Seedheads: Greater than 36 inches
Seedhead Structure: Unbranched  Seedhead Droops: N
Flowering Period: Jun - Aug
Flower Characteristics

Number of Flowers per Spikelet: Multi-flowered  Spikelets One-sided: N
Awns: Less than 1/4 inch   Three Awns: N  Awns Bent: N
Flower and Seedhead Notes: Seedheads 6 to 10 inches long, dense, unbranched cylindrical spike with up to 35 nodes, each node having 2 to 7 spikelets per node, spikelets 3 to 7 flowered.
Vegetative Charcteristics

Blade Hairy: N    Blade with White Margins: N    Blade Cross section: Flat or involute
Blade Notes: Basin wildrye has leaf blades 15 to 25 inches long and up to 3/4 inch wide.
Sheath Hairy: Y    Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar: N    Ligules: Membranous
Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area: Y

Forage Value: The early growth and abundant production of basin wildrye make it a valuable source of forage for livestock and wildlife.


  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailGrass.php  
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson  
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