Elymus canadensis

Taxobox
name = "Elymus canadensis"

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image_width = 260px
image_caption =
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Poales
familia = Poaceae
genus = "Elymus"
species = "E. canadensis"
binomial = "Elymus canadensis"
binomial_authority = L.

"Elymus canadensis" is a species of wild rye known by the common name Canada wild rye. This grass is native to much of North America, being most abundant in the central plains. It grows in a number of ecosystems, including riparian woodlands, many types of forest, lakeside sand dunes, and tallgrass prairie. This is a perennial bunch grass reaching heights of one to one and a half meters. It grows from a small rhizome, forms a shallow, fine root network, and is a facultative mycotroph, receiving about 25% of its nutrients on average from symbiotic mycorrhizae. [http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/graminoid/elycan/all.html Ecology] ] Its stems are hollow and tough at maturity and bear rough, flat leaves reaching 20 to 30 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a nodding spike up to 25 centimeters long containing 5 to 20 spikelets. Each spikelet is one or two centimeters long, not counting the sharp, hard, curling awn which may exceed three centimeters in length. This grass is sometimes used for stabilizing eroded areas and for vegetating metal-rich soils in reclaimed mines.

References

External links

* [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?8738,8964,8967 Jepson Manual Treatment]
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ELCA4 USDA Plants Profile]
* [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Elymus+canadensis Photo gallery]