Elymus virginicus (Virginia wildrye)

Elymus virginicus L.

Virginia wildrye

Virginia wildrye is a perennial “bunchgrass”—a grass that grows in tufts or bunches. It is a North American native.

Plants: Up to 1′ (30 cm) tall, with flowering spikes up to 4′ (1.2 m).

Leaves: Four to nine alternate leaves. Flat, linear, pointed, up to 1′ ⨉ ½″ (30 ⨉ 1.5 cm).

Flowers: A single spike 1½–6 ⨉ ⅜–¾″ (3.8–15 ⨉ 1–2.2 cm) long, with two flower clusters (“spikelets”) atop tall, stiff stems. Each spikelet is ⅜–½″ (1–1.5 cm) long. and greenish or blue-green. They flower from June to October.

Fruits: Awns remain straight as spikelets mature, becoming straw-colored when dry.

Habitats: Brackish or salt marshes and flats, cliffs, balds, or ledges, sea beaches, forests, marshes, shores of rivers or lakes, talus and rocky slopes, and wetland margins. It is often found in the same habitats with, and hybridizes with, E. macgregorii and E. hystrix.

Similar species.

Online References:

Minnesota Wildflowers

The Missouri Botanical Garden

Go Botany

Flora of North America

References:

Mittelhauser, Glen H.; Arsenault, Matt; Cameron, Don; Doucette, Eric, Grasses and Rushes of Maine, University of Maine Press, 2019, p. 388

7/17/2013 · Near Nashua River Boat Ramp, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 16 cm)

7/30/2016 · Huguenot Flatwater, James River Park System, Richmond, Virginia

7/20/2013 · Wooden Bridge, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (16 × 11 cm)

7/19/2017 · Monongahela National Forest, Monongahela, West Virginia · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 11 cm)

8/11/2020 · Cliff Trail, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 11 cm)

7/17/2013 · Near Nashua River Boat Ramp, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 16 cm)

8/27/2021 · Hackett and Minot Trails, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (9 × 13 cm)

7/17/2013 · Near Nashua River Boat Ramp, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm)

7/17/2013 · Near Nashua River Boat Ramp, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 5″ (17 × 12 cm)

7/19/2017 · Monongahela National Forest, Monongahela, West Virginia · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm)

7/20/2013 · Wooden Bridge, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (16 × 23 cm)

8/11/2025 · Skolfield Shore Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm)

7/17/2013 · Near Nashua River Boat Ramp, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 4½″ (10 × 12 cm) ID is dubious

7/20/2013 · Wooden Bridge, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 10″ (16 × 25 cm)

7/20/2013 · Wooden Bridge, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 12″ (21 × 31 cm)

7/19/2017 · Monongahela National Forest, Monongahela, West Virginia · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)

8/27/2021 · Hackett and Minot Trails, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (9 × 13 cm)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Commelinidae	Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others
Order	Cyperales	Flowering plants including grasses
Family	Poaceae	Grasses (but not sedges or rushes)
Genus	Elymus	From the Greek name elymos for “millet,” in turn from elyo, “to cover”
Species	virginicus	From or referring to Virginia

About plant names...

Range: Zones 3-8:

About this map...

Elymus virginicus description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.