252 MISC. PUBLICATION 200, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



California, Idaho, Nevada; rare. Elymus triticoides var. simplex 



(Scribn. and Will.) Hitchc. Usually less than 60 cm tall; blades 



rather short, involute; spike usually less than 



10 cm long; spikelets mostly solitary; glumes 



often rather broad at base. 01 (E. simplex 



Scribn. and Will.)— Wyoming and Colorado 



to California (Tahoe) and eastern Oregon 



(Harney County). ■ 



9. Elymus ambiguus Vasey and bcnbn. 



(Fig. 489.) Culms few, loosely tufted, erect, 



30 to 70 cm tall; sheaths glabrous; blades flat 



to subinvolute, 2 to 5 mm wide, scabrous; spike 



erect, rather dense, 5 to 15 cm long; spikelets 



solitary toward the base and apex of the spike, 



mostly 2- to 4-flowered; glumes subulate, sca- 

 brous toward the awned tip ; lemmas glabrous or 



scabrous on the back, about 1 cm long, short- 



awned, the awn 2 to 5 mm long. <2l —Open 



slopes at medium altitudes in the mountains, 



Colorado, rare in Montana and Utah. Elymus 



ambiguus var. strigosus (Rydb.) Hitchc. Lem- 

 mas strigose or pubescent. % (E. strigosus 



Rydb., lemmas strigose; E. villiflorus Rydb., 



lemmas pubescent.)— Wyoming, Colorado. 

 10. Elymus salina Jones. Salina wild-rye. 



(Fig. 490.) Culms erect, 30 to 80 cm tall, some- 

 times scabrous below nodes and below spike; 



sheaths scabrous ; 

 blades firm, invo- 

 lute, scabrous, or 

 rarely softly pubes- 

 cent ; spike slender, 

 erect, 5 to 12 cm 

 long; spikelets 

 mostly solitary, 

 often rather dis- 

 tant, 1 to 1.5 cm 

 long; glumes sub- 

 ulate, 4 to 8 mm long, sometimes reduced, 

 glabrous or scabrous ; lemmas about 1 cm 

 long, awnless or rarely awn-tipped, gla- 

 brous or scabrous, rarely sparsely strigose, 

 the nerves obscure. 91 — Rocky slopes 

 and sagebrush hills, Wyoming, Idaho, 

 Utah, and Arizona. 



Figure 486.— E I y m u s hirti- 

 florus, Spike X 1; spikelet, X 

 5. (Type.) 



Figure 487.— Elymus triticoides, X L (Cusick 763, Oreg.) 



11. Elymus condensatus Presl. Giant wild-rye. (Fig. 491.) 

 Culms in large tufts, stout, usually 1 to 3 m tall, sometimes puberu- 

 lent, especially below the nodes, the rhizomes when present short and 



