E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Elymus trachycaulus subsp. subsecundus (Link) Gould ex Shinners (Link) Á. Löve & D. Löve
slender wheatgrass
Poaceae (Grass family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants
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E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Elymus trachycaulus subsp. subsecundus
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Species Information

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General:
Perennial, tufted grass from fibrous roots, sometimes with short rhizomes; stems 30-120 cm tall, erect, the nodes exposed, smooth.
Leaves:
Sheaths smooth or sometimes hairy; blades 2-5 mm wide, flat to in-rolled, somewhat concentrated around the base of the stems, ear-shaped lobes lacking at the leaf-bases or if present, to 0.5 mm long; ligules up to 0.5 mm long, blunt, entire.
Flowers:
Inflorescence spikelike, 4-25 cm long, 4-10 mm wide, with 1 spikelet per node; spikelets 9-16 mm long, 2 times as long as the internodes, with 3 to 5 (7) florets; glumes unequal, 6-12 mm long, 3/4 to as long as the lemmas, the tips pointed or shortly awned; lemmas 6-13 mm long, smooth near the base and rough above, the tips pointed to awned, the awns up to 40 mm long; anthers 0.8-3 mm long.
Notes:
Two subspecies are recognized in BC:

1. Lemmas awned, the awns 15-40 mm long, longer than the bodies................. ssp. subsecundus (Link) A. & D. Love

1. Lemmas unawned or awned, the awns less than 13 mm long, shorter than the bodies................ ssp. trachycaulus.

The hybrid Elymus x macounii Vasey (Elyhordeum x macounii [Vasey] Barkw. & D. R. Dewey, Elymordeum x macounii [Vasey] Barkw.) is sporadic in BC. It is mainly a hybrid between E. trachycaulus and Hordeum jubatum.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry grasslands, meadows, forest openings and rocky ridges and slopes in all vegetation zones; spp. subsecundus - frequent in S BC, less frequent northward; ssp. trachycaulus - common throughout BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to ME, MA, PA, NC, IN, MO, TX, NM, AZ, MX and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Elymus trachycaulus ssp. subsecundus

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 46 831 1356
Slope Gradient (%) 0 31 75
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
135 217 270
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2 3 6
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
15
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BWBS(1), CDF(1), IDF(4), SBPS(1), SBS(3)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Agropyron caninum var. unilaterale (Cassidy) C.L. Hitchc.
Agropyron laeve (Scribn. & J.G. Sm.) A.S. Hitchc.
Agropyron parishii var. laeve Scribn. & J.G. Sm.
Agropyron pauciflorum subsp. laeve (Scribn. & J.G. Sm.) Gould
Agropyron pauciflorum var. glaucum (Pease & A.H. Moore) Taylor
Agropyron pauciflorum var. unilaterale
Agropyron subsecundum (Link) Hitchc.
Agropyron trachycaulum var. ciliatum (Scribn. & J.G. Sm.) Gleason
Agropyron trachycaulum var. glaucum (Pease & Moore) Malte
Agropyron trachycaulum var. unilaterale (Cassidy) Malte
Agropyron
Elymus laevis (Scribn. & J.G. Sm.) Hoover
Elymus pauciflorus var. subsecundus
Elymus trachycaulus subsp. glaucus (Pease & Moore) Cody
Elymus trachycaulus var. unilateralis (Cassidy) Beetle

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References