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Leymus triticoides

Leymus triticoides (Buckley) Pilg.

Beardless Wildrye, Beardless Lyme Grass, Creeping Wildrye

Poaceae (Grass Family)

Synonym(s): Elymus condensatus var. triticoides, Elymus orcuttianus, Elymus triticoides, Elymus triticoides var. pubescens

USDA Symbol: LETR5

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), HI (I), CAN (N)

A 2-4 ft. tall, long-lived, cool-season grass, forming large colonies from an extensive rhizome system. The seedhead of this loose sod-former is erect and slender.

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Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Grass/Grass-like
Root Type: Fibrous
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Venation: Parallel
Fruit Type: Caryopsis
Size Notes: Up to about 4 feet tall.
Leaf: Green

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Red , Yellow , Green , Brown
Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug
Bloom Notes: Flowers inconspicuous. Bloom color refers to spikelets. Bloom time refers to fruiting period.

Distribution

USA: AZ , CA , CO , ID , MT , NM , NV , OR , TX , UT , WA , WY
Canada: BC
Native Distribution: MT to WA, s. to NM & Baja CA; probably naturalized eastward.
Native Habitat: Dry to moist, low & medium elevation hills, canyons & open woods.

Growing Conditions

Water Use: High
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry , Moist
CaCO3 Tolerance: High
Drought Tolerance: High
Soil Description: Moist to drier, alkaline soils.
Conditions Comments: Extremely saline tolerant. Useful for improving saline rangelands and waterfowl areas.

Propagation

Description: Sow seed.
Seed Treatment: No pretreatment is necessary.
Commercially Avail: yes

Find Seed or Plants

Find seed sources for this species at the Native Seed Network.

View propagation protocol from Native Plants Network.

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:			FAC			FAC	UPL			FAC

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden - Santa Barbara, CA
Native Seed Network - Corvallis, OR

Web Reference

Webref 30 - Calflora (2018) Calflora
Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Leymus triticoides in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Leymus triticoides in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Leymus triticoides

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-06-07
Research By: TWC Staff

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