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Salina
Wildrye
Common
Name(s):
Salina Wildrye
Bullgrass
Saline Wildrye
Scientific
Name:
Leymus
salinus (M.E. Jones) A. Löve
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
Elymus salina M.E.
Jones
Symbol:
LESAS
Description:
Life
Span: Perennial
Origin:Native
Season: Cool
Growth Characteristics:
An
erect, perennial bunchgrass, with short rhizomes growing 1 ½
to 3 feet tall, with numerous slender seedstalks. Reproduces by
seed.
Seedhead:Slender,
erect spike, 2 to 4 ½ inches long; spikelets mostly one per
node, solitary to slightly overlapping, contain 5 to 9 florets;
glumes needlelike, tapering to awn tips, 1/8 to ¼ inch long;
lemmas glabrous, awnless to awn-tipped.
Leaves: Mostly
basal; blades rolled, firm, scabrous or rarely pubescent at base,
and 4 to 6 inches long; sheaths scabrous; ligules short, membranous;
auricles present or absent.
Ecological
Adaptations:
Salina
wildrye is a native grass, principally of the central Utah uplands.
It occurs mainly on upland range sites and also on a few semi-desert
and mountain sites in Carbon and Emery Counties, and to a lesser
extent, in counties to the southwest and southeast of these two
counties. Elevations range from 5000 to 7500 feet and rainfall varies
from 10 to 16 inches annually.
Soils: It is found mostly on fine textured
soils of shale parent material. Soils where it grows vary from shallow
to deep and from loams to silty clay loam, often with coarse fragments-cobble,
gravel, and stones.
Associated Species:
Big
sagebrush, shadscale, phlox,
saltbush, and Utah juniper.
Uses and
Management:
Salina
wildrye is fair to poor forage for livestock and game animals, being
most useful during the early spring. It is used to a limited extent
by upland game birds and songbirds. It is a rather poor erosion
control plant in pure stands because of it bunchiness. The foliage
is harsh and tough to the touch. Salina wildrye is quite resistant
to grazing.
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