Elymus hystrix L.

Eastern bottlebrush grass

Eastern bottlebrush grass is native to eastern North America.

Some terms:

• A spike is the roughly cylindrical inflorescence of a grass.
• A spikelet is the structure, resembling a tiny ear of corn, that encloses the flower. Spikelets are often paired.
• A glume is the outer part of the “corn husk,” a pair of bracts that protect the flower.
• A lemma is the inner part of the “corn husk,” looking very much similar to the glume.
• An awn is a hairlike protuberance that extends from both glumes and and the lemmas.
• The floret is a tiny flower, usually appearing for a fairly brief period, hidden inside the “husk.”

Plants: Tuft-forming perennial grass, typically 2–4′ (60–120 cm) in height. Stems have a circular cross-section.

Leaves: Four to eight per stem, each ¼–½″ (8–15 mm). Leaves are shiny to grayish to bluish green, with a slightly rough or hairy texture on leaf surfaces, and often drooping.

Flowers: An erect, cylindrical spike, resembling a bottle brush. It is 3–6″ tall ⨉ 1½–2½″ (8–15 ⨉ 4–7 cm), the width including the long narrow awns. Spikelets are ⅜–½″ (1–1.5 cm) long, exluding the awns. When mature, they extend at nearly right angles to the stem. Usually there are 2-4 florets per spikelet. Glumes are small and insignificant. Lemmas are ¼–⅜″ (9–11 mm) long, with awns that extend another ¾–1½″ (2–4 cm). There are 2-4 fertile lemmas per spikelet.

Fruits: Seeds are within the glumes.

Habitats: Rich, mesic, rocky forests, floodplains, and riparian habitats, in partial shade. It is often found in the same habitats with, and hybridizes with, E. virginicus and E. macgregorii.

Similar species.

Online References:

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Elymus hystrix description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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