Virginia ecotype
Duration: Perennial, cool season bunchgrass
Habit: Upright, clumping, archingSize: 3-5 ft. high, half as wide
Habitat: Riparian areas, woodland edges, floodplainsMoisture: Dry to moist, poor or well-draining
Light: Full sun, part sun, shadeSoils: Clay, loamy, sandy
Uses: crop cover, early succession, erosion control, riparian areas, lakes/pond edges, rain gardens
Elymus virginicus (Virginia wildrye)
Virginia wildrye is often used as a cover crop for native plantings. It reseeds itself but disappears after a few years once other plants get established. Elymus are cool season, meaning this grass actively grows during late fall, winter, and spring, going dry and dormant in the heat of summer and early fall.
Growing in clumps on well-drained soil, it adapts to a wide range of soil conditions including heavy clay, poor drainage, and sandy soil. Elymus are very adaptable to grow in deep shade, where few grasses thrive. Useful for soil stabilization on hillsides, floodplains and in riparian areas. This species is a native source of livestock feed and hay, but is not edible like a wheat.
Elymus grasses are a larval host plant for numerous insects, including leafhoppers, flies, beetles, stinkbugs, moths and skipper butterflies. Provides nesting material, habitat, and shelter for insects, mammals and birds.