Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Elymus hystrix var. hystrix
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Ryegrasses or Wild-ryes (genus Elymus) are noted by their evenly spaced leaves and elongate, terminal inflorescence that recall cultivated rye or wheat. Each floret produces several long, skinny awns per the Vascular Plants of North Carolina website.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Elymus hystrix var. hystrix
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 24 (2007)
Elymus hystrix
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-24-001:
Hystrix patula FAMILY Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hystrix hystrix
COMMON NAME:
Common Bottlebrush Grass, Eastern Bottlebrush-grass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_hypa3_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm170527_056
May McCormick County SC
Blades flat, mostly 7-15mm wide, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm170527_058
May McCormick County SC
Lemmas convex, rigid, tapering into slender, straight awns 1-4cm long, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
)
JK Marlow jkm170527_061
May McCormick County SC
Awned spikelets spread at right angles to rachis; glumes absent or reduced, per How to Know the Grasses: Pictured Key Nature Series (Pohl, 1954).
COMPARE
seedheads of Bottlebrush Grass, Cereal Rye, Little Barley, and Virginia Wild-rye
)
Gill Newberry gn06_h_patula_inflorscenc
June
)
Gill Newberry gn06_hpatula_plant
June
)
JK Marlow jkm0406c_27
June Chester County SC
Landsford Canal State Park
Spikelets usually 2 per node of rachis, usually horizontally divergent, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
seedheads of Bottlebrush Grass, Cereal Rye, Little Barley, and Virginia Wild-rye
)
JK Marlow jkm0506m_29
June Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm220626_8746
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmehystrix_wadakoe
June Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_e_hystrix_6_02_07_4
June Floyd County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm180814_3809
August McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmehystrix_wm1
Month Unknown Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Rachis internodes 5-10mm, spikelets horizontally spreading toward maturity, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Elymus hystrix var. hystrix
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Elymus hystrix var. hystrix
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 24
Elymus hystrix
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-24-001:
Hystrix patula
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hystrix hystrix
733
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Moist forests, dry forests especially over more fertile soils, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p211
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p266
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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