Secale cereale L.
rye (cereal rye)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
rye (cereal rye)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Annual grass from fibrous roots; stems hollow, mostly 60-150 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths open; blades flat, (3) 4-10 mm wide; ear-shaped lobes at the leaf-bases fairly prominent; ligules short membranous.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal spike, 8-15 cm long, with spikelets 1 per node; spikelets unstalked, 2-flowered, the florets side by side, the rachilla prolonged between the two; glumes stiff, slender, awl-like, 1-nerved, shorter than the lemmas; lemmas curved, 5-nerved, strongly fringed with fine hairs on the keels and exposed margins, awns mostly 4-7 cm long.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Early Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
According to the USDA, this species is a known allelopath.
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Secale cereale
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)
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 |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
932 | 932 | 932 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
2 | 2 | 2 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
0 | ||
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 4 | 4 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
IDF(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry waste areas and roadsides in the steppe and montane zones; rare (and not usually persisting) in S BC in and E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Secale montanum Guss., nom. inq.
Secale strictum (C. Presl) C. Presl
Triticum cereale (L.) Salisb.