HOW TO KNOW THE GRASSES 



18a. Spikes loose and curved; awns strongly recurved when dry; 

 bases of glumes thin and flat. Fig. 176. 



CANADA WILD RYE Elymus canadensis L. 



Figure 176 



Perennial; tufted; culms erect or arching, 

 bearing large, bristly spikes up to 25 cm. 

 long. The lemmas are rather coarsely 

 hairy. Canada wild rye is our most wide- 

 spread species and is common over much 

 of its range. It has been experimentally 

 planted for forage production in the Middle 

 West. Prairies, open ground, rocky banks 

 and open woods. July — September. 



Elymus riparius Wiegand is very similar 

 but has awns which are straight even 

 when mature and dry. The lemmas are 

 scabrous, not hairy as in E. canadensis. 

 Quebec to North CaroHna, west to Nebras- 

 ka and Arkansas. 



18b. Spikes stiff and straight; awns straight; bases of glumes round 

 in cross section, hard and smooth. Fig. 177. 

 VIRGINIA WILD RYE Elymus virginicus L. 



Perennial; tufted; culms stiffly erect, 60 — 

 120 cm. tall; the base of the spike often hid- 

 den in the uppermost sheath. The "bow- 

 legged" glumes are a good mark of recogni- 

 tion. Awned and awnless forms, as well as 

 forms with smooth or hairy lemmas, are 

 known. The plants are extremely variable 

 in size and growth habit. The bases of the 

 glumes are usually yellowish. Woods, thick- 

 ets, stream banks, open ground. June — Sep- 

 tember. 



Figure 177 



94 



