Elymus salina

Salina pass wild-rye

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Salina pass wild-rye is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) native perennial found in the Desert Mountains of Inyo and San Bernardino counties on north-facing slopes of pinyon and juniper woodland at elevations of 1,350 to 2,860 meters. Flowering from June to August, this grass produces pale green to tan spikelets in compact clusters 4 to 14 centimeters long. Growing in dense tufts with erect stems 30 to 90 centimeters tall and generally smooth surfaces, it forms robust clumps in rocky mountain habitats. Its leaf blades are narrow, 1 to 5 millimeters wide, with evenly hairy upper surfaces and smooth lower surfaces. The plant's spikelets typically bear 3 to 6 florets with lemmas 7 to 13 millimeters long, often ending in short awns.

Habitat: N-facing slopes of pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 1350-2860 m

Bioregions: DMtns (Inyo, San Bernardino cos.)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.