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Basin Wildrye (Elymus cinereus)

Plant Species
From Montana Interagency Plant Materials Handbook *
 By S. Smoliak, R.L. Ditterline, J.D. Scheetz, L.K. Holzworth, J.R. Sims, L.E. Wiesner, D.E. Baldridge, and G.L. Tibke

Though basin wildrye is native to the western part of the Northern Great Plains plant growth region, it is more abundant in the valleys of the Northern Rocky Mountains plant growth region and the northern part of the intermountain area. It develops early in the spring, but stands are depleted by overgrazing or frequent cutting for hay. It is valuable for range seed-ings or adopted sites and for reclamation plantings, and it provides excel-lent cover for upland gamebirds.

Basin wildrye has been used for spring calving pastures. The tall growth left standing over winter gives good protection from inclement weather, and the early spring growth provides good quality forage.

Basin wildrye was an important plant in the natural revegetation of steep, badly-rilled, smelter-damaged land near Anaconda, Montana.

Description

Basin wildrye is a hardy, robust, long-lived, native, perennial bunch-grass with many basal leaves. Its stems are numerous, erect, stiff and stout, usually 3 to 5 feet tall, but can reach a height of 10 feet on good sites. Leaves are firm, flat, up to 3/4 inch wide and 20 to 30 inches long. Large erect seed heads (spikes) are 4 to 10 inches long. Growing points are 10 to 12 inches above the crown.

Basin wildrye has good seedling vigor. It is one of the first grasses to initiate spring growth and produces an abundance of basal leaf growth until the development of seed heads in July. After the development of seed heads it makes little more basal leaf growth, and rapidly becomes coarse and stemmy.

Adaptation

Basin wildrye is a native grass adapted to the same soils as tall wheat-grass. It is very winterhardy, and has a rather broad climatic adaptation. It can be found at elevations from 2,000 feet up to 9,000 feet. It grows in areas with average annual precipitation of 8 inches to above 20 inches. In the lower precipitation regions it grows in run-in areas, along gullies or water courses or on sites with a high water table. It will not tolerate extended periods of inundation.

Basin wildrye has a broad soil texture adaptation, but is not adapted to shallow soils. It is most common on soils with good soil moisture holding capacity.

It has good tolerance to salt and alkali, and can be used on the same sites as tall wheatgrass. Established stands of basin wildrye survive longer periods of summer drought than tall wheatgrass.

It appears to be a pioneer plant, in that seedlings occur on disturbed sites, such as recent road fills and wildlife diggings.

Limitations

The palatability of basin wildrye is good during the spring growing season, but becomes unpalatable when mature. Heavy grazing has depleted this grass from much of its native range.

Careful management is required in haying and grazing basin wildrye as the growing points are 10 to 12 inches above the crown.

Use for Hay

At Bridger, Montana, basin wildrye has yielded 8 to 9 tons of dry forage per acre, when it was harvested after seed has matured. Very little information is available regarding the use of established stands of this grass for hay or pasture.

Sometimes the fall regrowth is not grazed and the crop is used as standing hay in the winter.

Use for Pasture

Forage quality is somewhat less than that of tall wheatgrass, but it is readily grazed by cattle and horses and to a lesser degree by sheep.

It is most palatable and best used as forage in early spring. Fall regrowth is also palatable.

Basin wildrye is easily damaged by overgrazing, especially in early spring use. Leave a stubble of at least 10 inches when grazing.

Because basin wildrye has earlier spring growth and rapid fall recovery; it supplements tall wheatgrass in a pasture program on saline and alkali soils.

Seed Production

Seed production of selected strains in cultivated rows with 60 pounds of nitrogen per acre have averaged from 260 to 500 pounds per acre, over a three-year period at Bridger, Montana.

* The Montana Interagency Plant Materials Handbook (EB69) is no longer in print, but is available for viewing in
Montana County Extension Service and National Resource Conservation Service Offices.