About Elymus glaucus Buckley
Elymus glaucus Buckley is a perennial bunch grass that forms small, narrow tufts with several erect stems reaching between 0.5 and 1.5 meters (1 foot 8 inches to 4 feet 11 inches) in height. It has a thick, fibrous root system, and sometimes produces rhizomes; stems may also form stolons. Its leaves are flat, growing up to one centimeter wide at the base, and narrow rapidly to a pointed tip. A narrow, pointed inflorescence many centimeters long occupies the tip of the stem, and this inflorescence is made up of a small number of spikelets. Each spikelet measures 1 to 1.5 centimeters long, not including its awn, which can grow to between 2 and 3 centimeters in length. In the far west coastal prairies, its common native grass associates are Danthonia californica, Deschampsia caespitosa, Festuca idahoensis, and Nassella pulchra. Ecologically, this species acts as a larval host plant for the woodland skipper, Ochlodes sylvanoides.
