Elymus multisetus

$1.75$7.30

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Big squirreltail

This perennial, cool season native bunch grass grows in clumps 1-3′ tall.

Big squirreltail prefers well drained soils, often found on rocky or brushy hillsides and open dry woods and plains. Similar to E. elymoides, but grows in slightly more mesic areas. Provides fair forage in the spring. Useful for quick stabilization.

It is a wild rye that gets its name from the array of awns in the inflorescence that look like bushy squirrels’ tails.

Big squirreltail blooms from May to July and has low water requirements.

Lifeform: Grass

Sun: Full Sun

Water: Dry, Light

Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand

Other: Drought Tolerant, Erosion Control

 

Ecological Value

Provides quick soil stabilization.

Container

SC, SCO, SCSO, Stub-O, D-16, D-16S, SC-o, SCS, SCS-o, Stub, StubS

Historical Uses

The seeds have been used as food by parching, pounding and cooked into a thin mush.

Distribution

Native to California and beyond but confined to Western North America

Elevation

Between 0 and 10000 feet

Communities

Yellow Pine/Red Fir/Lodgepole/Subalpine Forest, Foothill Woodland, Chaparral, Valley Grassland, many plant communities.

Habitat

Rocky or clayey serpentine soils