Common Wheat-grass - native (Elymus scaber)

Native. Perennial. C3.

Family. Poaceae (Grass family).

It is widespread in native grasslands and good quality roadsides.

Identification

• the flower cluster is a spike i.e. the flowers are stalkless
• the glumes are much shorter than the lemmas
• the spikelets have about 10 long-awned lemmas
• the leaves are flat or inrolled
• the ligule is irregularly toothed and 0.1-0.4mm long.

As the flower dries, the awns take on a beautiful curve, making it easy to distinguish it from the other grasses. It is moderately tall, up to about a metre.

Sometimes there are only one or two spikelets.

Common Wheat-grass can be distinguished from other grasses with unequal glumes, and long-awned lemmas (e.g. vulpias) by the curved mature awns, and the stalkless flowers. Vulpias are shorter grasses, usually 30cm high or less.

Elymus: millet; scaber: rough to the touch.

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