Leymus triticoides

(Buckley) Pilg.
Common names: Beardless wildrye
Endemic
Synonyms: Elymus triticoides var. pubescens Elymus triticoides
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 24. Treatment on page 360.
Please click on the illustration for a higher resolution version.
Illustrator: Cindy Roché

Copyright: Utah State University

Plants not cespitose, strongly rhizomatous. Culms 45-125 cm tall, 1.8-3 mm thick, solitary or few together. Leaves exceeded by the spikes, often basally concentrated; sheaths glabrous or hairy, hairs 0.5-1 mm; auricles to 1 mm; ligules 0.2-1.3 mm, truncate, erose; blades 10-35 cm long, 3.5-10 mm wide, flat to involute, usually stiffly ascending, adaxial surfaces usually scabrous, often also sparsely hairy, hairs to 0.8 mm, most abundant proximally, veins 11-27, closely spaced, subequal, prominently ribbed. Spikes 5-20 cm long, 5-15 mm wide, with 2 spikelets at midspike, sometimes 1 or 3 at other nodes; internodes 5-11.5 mm, usually mostly smooth and glabrous, sometimes strigillose distally, edges ciliate, cilia to 0.4 mm. Spikelets 10-22 mm, with 3-7 florets. Glumes 5-16 mm long, 0.5-1.2 mm wide, bases not overlapping, glabrous and smooth proximally, scabrous distally, tapering from below midlength to the subulate apices, stiff, keeled, the central portion thicker than the margins, 1 (3) -veined, veins inconspicuous at midlength; calluses usually glabrous, occasionally with a few hairs, hairs about 0.1 mm; lemmas 5-12 mm, usually glabrous, occasionally sparsely hairy, hairs to 0.3 mm, apices acute, usually awned, awns to 3 mm; anthers 3-6 mm, dehiscent. 2n = 28.

Distribution

Colo., N.Mex., Tex., B.C., Utah, Calif., Oreg., Mont., Pacific Islands (Hawaii), Wyo., Wash., Ariz., Idaho, Nev.

Discussion

Leymus triticoides grows in dry to moist, often saline meadows. Its range extends from southern British Columbia to Montana, south to California, Arizona, and New Mexico, but its populations are widely scattered. It is not known from Mexico. There is considerable variation within the species, but no pattern of variation suggesting the existence of infraspecific taxa is known. It is very similar to L. multicaulis, strains of which were initially released as L. triticoides by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The most consistent differences between them appear to be in the venation of the leaf blades and the vestiture of the calluses. Leymus triticoides is also very similar to L. simplex, differing from it in the number of spikelets at the midspike nodes.

Leymus triticoides hybridizes with other species of Leymus; hybrids with L. mollis are called L. xvancouverensis (see p. 358), those with L. condensatus are called L. xmultiflorus (see p. 362). Hybrids with L. cinereus are known, but have not been formally named. Plants identified as Elymus arenicolus Scribn. & J.G. Sm. are here included in L. flavescens, but may represent hybrids between L. triticoides and L. flavescens.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number."/2-33/4timesthelengthof" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Leymus triticoides"
membranous +  and scarious +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
0-3(7)-veined +
straight +
midlength +
hairy +, glabrous +  and pilose +
acute +  and subulate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br />) +
Mary E. Barkworth +
(Buckley) Pilg. +
0-3(7)-veined +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
straight +
midlength +
glabrous +  and pilose +
tapering +, acuminate +, acute +  and keeled +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
not overlapping +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
keeled +  and tapering +
swelling +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (35 cm350 mm <br />0.35 m <br />) +
not evident +
flat +  and involute +
0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
spikelike +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.04 cm0.4 mm <br />4.0e-4 m <br />) +
Beardless wildrye +
not branching +
45 cm450 mm <br />0.45 m <br /> (125 cm1,250 mm <br />1.25 m <br />) +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (350 cm3,500 mm <br />3.5 m <br />) +
not woody +
0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
Colo. +, N.Mex. +, Tex. +, B.C. +, Utah +, Calif. +, Oreg. +, Mont. +, Pacific Islands (Hawaii) +, Wyo. +, Wash. +, Ariz. +, Idaho +  and Nev. +
liquid +, soft +  and hard +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
3 +  and 7 +
laterally compressed +  and terete +
shorter than to longer than the adjacent florets +
5mm +  and 16mm +
subtending +
tapering +, lanceolate +  and subulate +
reduced +  and subequal +
0.5mm +  and 1.2mm +
few +  and abundant +
uncinate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br />) +
solid +  and hollow +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (?) +
strigillose +  and glabrous +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.15 cm11.5 mm <br />0.0115 m <br />) +
0-3(7)-veined +
glabrous +  and pilose +
tapering +, acuminate +, acute +  and keeled +
distributed +
hairy +  and glabrous +
keeled +  and rounded +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
stiffly membranous +  and coriaceous +
truncate +  and rounded +
0.02 cm0.2 mm <br />2.0e-4 m <br /> (0.13 cm1.3 mm <br />0.0013 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
fleshy +  and membranous +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
hairy +  and glabrous +
well-developed +
slightly shorter than to slightly longer than the lemmas +
slightly longer +
subequal +
appressed +  and ascending +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
spikelike +
hairy +  and glabrous +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (?) +  and 20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br /> (?) +
pedicellate +  and sessile +
bisexual +  and sterile +
terete +  and compressed +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (2.2 cm22 mm <br />0.022 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
simple +  and compound +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
not papillate +
Elymus triticoides var. pubescens +  and Elymus triticoides +
Leymus triticoides +
species +
awnlike +
membranous +
0-3(7)-veined +
midlength +
inconspicuous +
glabrous +  and pilose +
11 (?) +  and 27 (?) +
tapering +, acuminate +, acute +  and keeled +
subequal +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
plant +  and not cespitose +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +