Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Elymus triticoides is species in the Poaceae (Grass) family known by the common names Creeping Wild Rye and Beardless Wild Rye. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Texas, where it often grows in moist habitat, sometimes with heavy and saline soils. It forms a solid, rhizomatous root system which allows it to grow at water's edge and prevent the soil from eroding. It reaches 1.3 meters in maximum height with stiff, slender green to blue-green leaves that stand away from the stems at an obvious angle. The flower cluster is a narrow spike up to 20 centimeters long. This grass is not frequently used in residential gardens, but it is a good range land grass for grazing, and it is used to stabilize waterways because of its soil-retaining rhizome network.

Plant type

Grass

Size

2 - 4 ft Tall

Growth rate

Fast

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Calscape icon
Color

Green

Special uses

Groundcover

Sun

Partial Shade

Water

Low

Summer irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Ease of care

Easy

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 0° F

Soil drainage

Medium, Slow

Soil description

Tolerates most soils. Tolerates sodic soil..
Soil PH: 6.0 - 9.0

Propagation

For propagating by seed: No treatment. Germination may be poor.

Sunset Zones

1, 2*, 3*, 4, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8*, 9*, 10*, 11, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Site type

Moist, often saline, meadows and understory of various woodlands

Plant communities

Chaparral, Foothill Woodland, Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Subalpine Forest, Valley Grassland, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian

Bats
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 10 likely

Confirmed Likely

Apamea cuculliformis

Glassy Borer

Apamea devastator

Chionodes figurella

Nevada Skipper

Hesperia nevada