Blue wild-rye, also known as smooth, mountain, or western wild- 

 rye, or ryegrass, is a pale green or bluish white, perennial bunch- 

 grass, commonly growing in small tufts of only a few stems. The 

 name, ryegrass, is best restricted to species of the genus Lolhvm, on 

 account of their long usage in cultivation. The species occurs from 

 Alaska south to California and east to New Mexico, Missouri, and 

 the Great Lakes. It ranges from near sea-level on the Pacific coast 

 to elevations of more than 10,000 feet in Colorado and is the most 

 widely distributed and common species of wild-rye found in the 

 Western States. It is probably most abundant in woodlands of 

 the central Rocky Mountain region, but is not uncommon in open 

 parks and is frequently associated with sagebrush and other shrubs. 

 This grass is a characteristic and sometimes fairly abundant species 

 on old burns and cut-over areas, and, in the Northwest, in open fir 

 stands and along streams under alder and maple. It favors mod- 

 erately moist soils and, while sometimes abundant in local areas, it 

 rarely ever occurs in pure stands, usually being intermixed with a 

 variety of grass and weed species such as bromegrasses, bluegrasses, 

 meadow barley, cinquefoil, strawberry, yarrow, asters, and wild- 

 daisies. Although characteristic of moist sites, blue wild-rye with- 

 stands drought remarkably well. In drought tests it did not wilt 

 beyond recovery in most cases until the soil moisture was reduced 

 to 7.5 percent. 1 



Although blue wild-rye produces rather coarse forage, it is grazed 

 during the forepart of the season by cattle and horses and, to a less 

 extent, by sheep. Livestock, however, do not relish the bearded seed 

 clusters. Blue wild-rye has strong seed habits and, when grazing is 

 restricted, responds quickly on areas depleted by over-grazing which 

 are naturally adapted to its production. Although it has a fairly 

 well-developed root system, this plant does not withstand continued 

 heavy grazing especially well. It appears to be wholly dependent 

 on seed for reproduction and probably should be regarded as a 

 valuable secondary species to be encouraged only on areas where 

 more desirable plants cannot be produced. 



Blue wild-rye is typically glaucous, i. e., covered with a whitish 

 or bluish bloom, to which fact the specific name glaucus refers. 



1 Sampson A. W. IMPORTANT RANGE PLANTS : THEIR LIFE HISTORY AND FORAGE VALUE. 

 U. S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 545, 63 pp., illus. 1917. 



