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Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Graminoid
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator	FACU
Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring, Summer, Fall
After Harvest Regrowth Rate	Moderate
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	Medium
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	No
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	Yellow
Flower Conspicuous	No
Foliage Color	Gray-Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Moderate
Foliage Porosity Winter	Porous
Foliage Texture	Coarse
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	No
Growth Form	Bunch
Growth Rate	Rapid
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)
Height, Mature (feet)	3.3
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Moderate
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	No
Shape and Orientation	Erect
Toxicity	None
Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	High
CaCO3 Tolerance	High
Cold Stratification Required	Yes
Drought Tolerance	High
Fertility Requirement	Low
Fire Tolerance	High
Frost Free Days, Minimum	110
Hedge Tolerance	None
Moisture Use	Low
pH, Minimum	5.8
pH, Maximum	8.5
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum
Precipitation, Minimum	16
Precipitation, Maximum	60
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	12
Salinity Tolerance	Medium
Shade Tolerance	Tolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-38
Reproduction
Bloom Period	Early Summer
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	High
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Summer
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	No
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	No
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	134500
Seed Spread Rate	Moderate
Seedling Vigor	High
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None
Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	Yes
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	No
Palatable Browse Animal	Low
Palatable Graze Animal	Medium
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Medium
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

 

Kingdom  Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom  Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision  Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division  Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class  Liliopsida -- Monocotyledons

Subclass  Commelinidae

Order  Cyperales

Family  Poaceae -- Grass family

Genus  Elymus L. -- wildrye P

Species  Elymus glaucus Buckl. -- blue wildrye P

 

Uses

Blue wildrye is good for streambank restoration, meadow and swale seeding.  It is also excellent for reseeding burned or disturbed areas in oak woodland or forest.  It is very tolerant of fire, burning quickly with little downward transfer of heat.  Blue wildrye can also provide excellent wildlife habitat for mammals, birds, and waterfowl.  It provides good forage early in the season, but later, may be too coarse and stemmy.

 

Ethnobotanic: Blue wildrye has similar uses as creeping wild rye, primarily as a cereal grain.  It is less desirable for basketry as the nodes are thick, but this does not exclude its use in some baskets.  Similar to creeping wildrye, there may be some ceremonial uses of blue wildrye.

 

Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

 

Description

General: Blue wildrye is a large perennial bunchgrass.  It is very tall (up to 5 feet) with an upright growth habit and just a few stems per plant.  It is similar in stature and growth habit to slender wheatgrass.  The leaf blades are thin and flat, ranging from 4-12mm (.2-.5 inch) wide.  Leaf color changes from green to blue green, with a white waxy coating.  If it is given water it will stay green all year.  Frosts induce dormancy.

 

Distribution

Blue wildrye is found throughout California in the foothills and lower mountain slopes, where it is associated with chaparral, as well as open stands of oak and conifers.  At lower elevations, it grows in valley grasslands, open areas, alluvial channel banks and swales.  It is often found with other native perennial grasses.  It’s adapted to 25-100 cm (10-40 inches) annual rainfall.

 

Blue wildrye is also found from California to Alaska and also the Great Plains and northern Mexico.  Please consult the PLANTS database for current distribution.

 

Habitat

Open areas, chaparral, woodland and forest.

 

Adaptation

Blue wildrye grows well in both disturbed and undisturbed areas and is a good competitor.  It tolerates wide variations in soil and weather conditions, though grows best in good soils.  It prefers moisture but tolerates drought and is usually more drought-tolerant than meadow barley (Hordeum brachyantherum) and California brome (Bromus carinatus).  Some ecotypes are adapted to sunny grassland habitats.

 

Establishment

Seeds mature in late spring to summer; can be collected for 2-7 weeks depending on ecotype and growing conditions.  Seed is up to 6mm long (1/4 in.), germinates easily, and has good seedling vigor.  There are approximately 109,000 seeds/lb., and if planted at a rate of 1 lb./acre, there would be approximately 2.6 seeds/square feet.

 

Management

Forage quality can be excellent when cut before dormancy.  It will not survive if grazed to heavily.  Likewise, it is generally tolerant of mowing if not cut too short.

 

Pests and Potential Problems

Rust can be a problem and treating the seed prior to planting with an approved fungicide is recommended.

 

Seeds and Plant Production

Flowering occurs in the late spring typically April to May.  Adequate moisture will promote good seed set, but even under adverse conditions of low moisture, seed will be produced in most years.  Seed is ripe 6 to 9 weeks after flowering.  There are 311,000 seeds per pound.  The planting rate for most vegetative practices is 5 pounds pure live seed per acre drilled and 7 pounds pure live seed per acre broadcast.

 

Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

‘Mariposa’ (CA) - Collected from a native stand near Mariposa, California at an elevation of 600 feet above sea level.  ‘Mariposa’ has shown a preference for loam to clay loam soils.  It can persist on moderately deep road cut slopes.  It is best grown for seed on well to moderately well drained, moist, medium textured soils.  It does not tolerate poor drainage or prolonged flooding.

 

'Arlington' (WA)- Collected from a native stand two miles north of the city of Arlington in Snohomish County, Washington at an elevation of 200 ft. (61 m) above sea level.  'Arlington' blue wildrye is a native, cool season, perennial bunchgrass.  It establishes rapidly from seed but is short-lived.  Field evaluations in western Oregon and Washington indicate that 'Arlington' is suitable for erosion control and quick, self-perpetuating cover on logging roads, cut-over timberland, burned areas and steep hillsides.  The species may also be less competitive with recently planted forest tree seedlings compared to certain introduced grasses.  However, the specific forage value of 'Arlington' and its compatibility with tree plantations is not fully established.

 

'Elkton' (OR) - Collected from a native stand 11.5 miles northwest of the city of Sutherlin in Douglas County, Oregon at an elevation of 400 ft. (121 m) above sea level.  'Elkton' blue wildrye is a native, cool season, perennial bunchgrass. It establishes rapidly from seed but is relatively short-lived.  Evaluations in western Oregon and Washington indicate that 'Elkton' is suitable for erosion control and quick, self-perpetuating cover on logging roads, cutover timber and burned areas and steep hillsides.  The species may also be less competitive with recently planted forest tree seedlings compared to certain introduced grasses.  However, the specific forage value of 'Elkton' and its compatibility with tree plantations not fully established.

 

References

Hankins, D. Email to the author. 19 July 2005.

 

Hickman, J.C. The Jepson manual. Higher plants of California. University of California Press.  Berkeley and Los Angeles.

 

Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States. USDA Misc. Publ. No. 200. Washington, DC.

 

USDA-NRCS. Notice of release of ‘Arlington’ blue wildrye. Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Washington State University Agriculture Research Center, Corvallis.

 

USDA-NRCS. Notice of release of ‘Elkton’ blue wildrye. Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Corvallis.

 

USDA-NRCS. Notice of release of ‘Mariposa’ blue wildrye. Lockeford Plant Materials Center, Lockeford.

 

Yolo County Resource Conservation District. 2000. Know your natives: a pictorial guide to California native grasses. Yolo County Resource Conservation District, Woodland.

 

Prepared By:

Dave Dyer

USDA NRCS Plant Materials Center, Lockeford, California

 

Reina O’Beck

USDA NRCS California State Office, Davis, California

 

Species Coordinator:

Dave Dyer

USDA NRCS Plant Materials Center, Lockeford, California

 

Edited: 11Jul2005 ro; 29Jul2005 rln; 1Aug2005 rln ; 06jun06 jsp

 

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

 

 

 

Attribution:  U.S. Department of Agriculture