Scientific Name
Leymus cinereus (Scribn. & Merr.) Á. Löve (Synonyms: Elymus cinereus)
Common Name(s)
Basin wildrye, Great Basin wildrye, giant wildrye
Tribe / Family Name
Triticeae
Flowering Period
June to August
Symbol
LECI4
Description
Basin wildrye is a native cool-season perennial bunchgrass that reproduces from seeds and tillers. Culms range from 70–270 cm in height. Its inflorescence is a thick, dense, erect spike 10–29 cm long, sometimes interrupted below, and not shattering at maturity. Spikelets are 9–25 mm long, usually 2–7 per rachis node, 3- to 7-flowered, and acute or awned (awns up to 3 mm long). Auricles are well-developed (up to 1.5 mm long) or nearly lacking. Ligules are 1.5–8 mm long, membranous, obtuse to acute, entire to erose, and glabrous.
General Info
This drought-tolerant species can be found along roadsides, riverbanks, ravines, and moist or dry slopes, in sagebrush steppe and open woodlands, pastures and hay fields, foothills, plains, and montane sites.
Similar Species
Basin wildrye looks similar to other wildrye species, but is very distinctive because of its robust growth habit. However, it might be confused with reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), which is also a large grass and grows in floodplains and drainages. To distinguish these two species from each other, remember to look at the large and distinct bunches of basin wildrye, and the rhizomatous growth form of reed canarygrass. The inflorescence of basin wildrye is a spike while reed canarygrass has a panicle inflorecense.
Picture of growth habit.
Close-up picture of spike inflorescence.
Close-up picture of spikelet.
Close-up picture of membranous ligule and auricles.
Illustration of basin wildrye. Glen Cole, 2017.