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Elymus lanceolatus
Also called Thick Spike Wheatgrass, Streambank Grass, Streambank Wheatgrass, Streamside Wheatgrass, Streamside Wildrye, Thick Spike Wildrye, Northern Wheatgrass
Elymus lanceolatus is a species of grass known by the common names thickspike wheatgrass and streamside wheatgrass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and abundant in much of Canada and the western and central United States. There are two subspecies, subsp. lanceolatus occurring throughout the species' range and subsp. psammophilus occurring in the Great Lakes region.
Elymus lanceolatus subsp. lanceolatus is a perennial, rhizomatous grass. It has a moderate growth rate and is shade intolerant. It is available commercially.
This plant is native to semiarid regions. The plant grows in areas with 200-500 millimeters (8-20 inches) of annual precipitation. It is common and dominant in a number of habitat types in all stages of ecological succession. It can be found in forests, woodlands, sagebrush, shrubsteppe, desert, sandy lakeshores and sand dunes, and a wide variety of grassland and prairie ecosystems. It takes hold easily in disturbed areas such as roadsides. It is capable of growing in high altitude regions of the Rocky Mountains or at sea level near the Great Lakes in the United States. Though it rarely forms large monotypic stands, small pure stands of the species are common. It is highly drought-resistant and tolerant of wildfire and grazing pressure.
Elymus lanceolatus shows potential to be used for restoring grasslands. This can indirectly help human food consumption as E. lanceolatus may improve soil health. Soil health may be improved because it produces a sod due to its ability to form grass root networks and rhizomes. The term sod refers to grass which is held together by roots below soil. Plants may have a more difficult time forming rhizomes if there are neighboring roots nearby that would cause physical resistance. This plant’s growth is increased by removing other plants nearby and planting at a moderate density around 300-600 seeds/m2.
Alaskan wheatgrass · Thinopyrum acutum · California bottlebrush grass · Canada wildrye · Bearded wheatgrass · Campeiostachys dahurica · Squirreltail · Blue wildrye · RS wheatgrass · Eastern bottlebrush grass · Early wildrye · Tufted wheatgrass
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Elymus lanceolatus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
