Elymus triticoides
Beardless wild-rye
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Elymus triticoides (Beardless wild-rye) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by feature is 2-3 spikelets per node plus short/absent awns.
Beardless wild-rye is a California native perennial grass found in dry to moist, often saline meadows throughout California at elevations up to 2,500 meters. Flowering from June to July, this grass produces pale green to greenish-white flower spikes 5 to 20 centimeters long with spikelets clustered at each node. Growing with robust rhizomatous stems 45 to 125 centimeters tall, it spreads quickly in grassland environments. Its leaf blades are narrow, 10 to 35 centimeters long and 3 to 6 millimeters wide, with a finely rough upper surface that gives the plant a distinctive texture. The plant's delicate spikelets feature awl-like glumes 5 to 16 millimeters long, with each spikelet containing 3 to 7 florets.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 27 sympatric species; diagnostic feature is 2-3 spikelets per node plus short/absent awns
Habitat and range
Habitat: dry to moist, often saline, meadows
Elevation: < 2500 m
California counties: Kern, San Francisco, San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, Monterey, Del Norte, Inyo, Ventura, Orange, Santa Cruz, Alpine, San Luis Obispo, Mono, Santa Barbara, Tuolumne, Butte, Sutter, Fresno, Shasta, Glenn, Trinity, El Dorado, Modoc, Lassen, Plumas, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Lake, Siskiyou, Yolo, Sonoma, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Marin, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Merced
Outside California: to British Columbia, Texas, Baja California
Bloom period
Elymus triticoides blooms Jun-Jul.
How to tell it apart
vs Hordeum: Elymus has rounded glume backs; Hordeum has all glumes narrow and bristle-like.; vs Leymus: Elymus has 2-8 spikelets per node; Leymus has just 1-2 spikelets per node.; vs Taeniatherum: Elymus is perennial with robust growth; Taeniatherum is a weedy annual with very long awns.; vs Lolium: Elymus shows multiple spikelets per node; Lolium has single spikelets edgewise to the stem.; vs Thinopyrum: Elymus has prominent auricles; Thinopyrum typically lacks auricles or has very small ones.
Frequently asked questions
Is Elymus triticoides native to California?
Yes. Elymus triticoides is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Elymus triticoides bloom?
Elymus triticoides blooms Jun-Jul.
Where in California does Elymus triticoides grow?
Elymus triticoides occurs in Kern, San Francisco, San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, Monterey, Del Norte and other counties, at elevations of < 2500 m.
What plant family does Elymus triticoides belong to?
Elymus triticoides is in the Poaceae family, genus Elymus.
What habitat does Elymus triticoides grow in?
Elymus triticoides grows in dry to moist, often saline, meadows.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Elymus ×vancouverensis
- Elymus californicus — California bottle-brush grass
- Elymus caput-medusae — Medusa head
- Elymus cinereus — Great basin wild-rye
- Elymus condensatus — Giant wild-rye
- Elymus elymoides — Squirreltail
- Enneapogon desvauxii — Nine-awned pappus grass
- Enneapogon sp. — Pappus grass
- Eragrostis barrelieri — Mediterranean love grass
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.