GRASSES OF OHIO 
293 
lanceolate, awn-pointed; lemma keeled, the keel hispid-ciliate, 
awned; palet 2-keeled; grain with a deep groove, hairy at the 
apex, free. 
1. Secale cereale L. Rye. A tall, light green, annual grass with 
slender, erect, hollow stems, 2-6 ft. high, and more or less nodding, 
terminal spikes. Spikelets 2-3-flowered; lemma sharply keeled, 
awned. Cultivated as a winter annual for its grain and straw, and 
for temporary pasturage. The grain is sometimes infested and dis¬ 
torted by ergot. 
In cultivated fields and waste places, especially along railways. 
May-July. Erie, Morrow, Franklin, Scioto. Escaped. 
26. Elymus L. Wild-rye. 
Tall, erect tufted perennials with flat leaves and dense terminal 
spikes. Spikelets 2-several-flowered, sessile, usually in pairs, some¬ 
times in threes; empty glumes equal, rigid, narrow, 1-3-nerved, acute 
or awned; lemma convex, obscurely 5-nerved, usually with an awn; 
palet 2-keeled, a little shorter than the lemma; grain adherent to 
the palet. 
1. Empty glumes narrowly lanceolate; spike stout. 2 
1. Empty glumes narrowly awl-shaped; spike and stem slender. E. striatiis. 
2. Lemma glabrous; spike erect, empty glumes indurated. E. virginicus. 
2. Lemma more or less pubescent. 3 
3. Spike erect; empty glumes indurated below. E. hirsutiglumis. 
3. Spike nodding, empty glumes not indurated below. E. canadensis. 
1. Elymus virginicus L. Virginia Wild-rye. A dark yellow- 
green grass with stout, erect, simple stems, 2-5 ft. high, and thick, 
rigidly upright spikes, often included at the base in the uppermost 
inflated sheath. Spikelets 2-3-flowered; lemma smooth, bearing a 
rough awn. Extensively infested with ergot. 
In moist soil, especially in ravines and along streams. July, 
August. General. 
2. Elymus hirsutiglumis Scrib. Strict Wild-rye. A grass with 
an erect stem, 2-3 ft. high, and a stout, erect spike, the rachis 
pubescent. Spikelets crowded, in pairs, 2'-5-flowered; lemma 5>- 
nerved, lanceolate, appressed-hirsute, long acuminate into a rough 
awn. 
On river banks and moist places. July, August. Ottawa, Huron. 
3. Elymus canadensis L. Nodding Wild-rye. A light green or 
usually glaucous grass with simple erect stems, 2-7yi ft. high, and a 
broad, stout, compact, nodding spike interrupted below, its peduncle 
much exserted. Spikelets divergent from the rachis, 3-5- 
flowered ; lemma hirsute with a long, spreading awn. Often infested 
with ergot. 
In sandy soil and moist ground. July, August. Rather general. 
