Silky Wild Rye is present in high quality wooded habitats. The bottoms of the leaves, the leaf sheaths and parts of the seed head are hairy which sets this apart from other Wild Ryes with drooping seed heads (Canada Wild Rye and Riverbank Wild Rye).
It’s worth growing this species just to feel how silky the bottoms of the leaves feel.
Any planting should have some grasses or sedges due to the fibrous roots that help keep soil in place and the cover they give to wildlife. For example, I had a group of male long-horned bees that would sleep on my sedges every night.
Companion Plants: Virginia waterleaf, round-lobed hepatica, purple cress, spring beauty, twinleaf, blue cohosh
Silky Wild Rye (Elymus villosus)
Michigan Flora reference page for statewide distribution: Silky Wild Rye
Height: 2-4’
Soil: moist to somewhat dry loam, sandy loam
Sun: part-sun to shade
Plant Spacing:
Life cycle: perennial
Family: Poaceae
Seed source: Michigan
Sizes:
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Silky Wild Rye is present in high quality wooded habitats. The bottoms of the leaves, the leaf sheaths and parts of the seed head are hairy which sets this apart from other Wild Ryes with drooping seed heads (Canada Wild Rye and Riverbank Wild Rye).
It’s worth growing this species just to feel how silky the bottoms of the leaves feel.
Any planting should have some grasses or sedges due to the fibrous roots that help keep soil in place and the cover they give to wildlife. For example, I had a group of male long-horned bees that would sleep on my sedges every night.
Companion Plants: Virginia waterleaf, round-lobed hepatica, purple cress, spring beauty, twinleaf, blue cohosh
Silky Wild Rye (Elymus villosus)
Michigan Flora reference page for statewide distribution: Silky Wild Rye
