Canada Wildrye
Elymus canadensis
- Plant Type
- Grass (Semi-evergreen)
- Landscape Layer
- Grasslayer
- Sun
- ☀️ Full Sun, ⛅ Part Sun
- Moisture
- 🏜️ Dry, 💧 Regular
- Soil
- Clay, Loam, Sand, Silt, Calcareous
- Bloom
- July, August, September
- Sociability
- S4 – Large patches
Pollinator Value
- 🐛 Larval Host
- Resapamea stipata, Mythimna unipuncta
- ❄️ Winter Food Source
- Persistent seed heads provide winter forage for granivorous birds including Gray Partridge, Snow Bunting, Greater White-fronted Goose, Tundra Swan, and Chukar. Seeds remain on nodding spikes through fall and into winter, accessible above snow cover.
S57 5 bird species at genus level; S10 spikes turn tan and persist in fall
Ecology & Conservation
- Proximity Score
- 0
- Native Status
- ✅ Outaouais ✅ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
- Closest Direction
- Local
- CEC Eco-Regions
- 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
- Rarity Notes
- Globally secure (G5) and nationally secure in both Canada and the US (N5). Not ranked at provincial level in Ontario or Quebec. Not listed under SARA or COSEWIC. Widespread across North America from British Columbia to New Brunswick.
S22 G5, N5; S26 SARA not listed; S1 native in 8 Canadian provinces/territories
- Rarity Ranks
- QC SNR – Not Ranked, ON SNR – Not Ranked
- Migration
- Stable
- Ecological Context
- Canada wildrye is a cool-season bunchgrass of open sandy shores, dunes, river banks, and prairie edges. In the Ottawa River valley it occurs on calcareous shoreline pavements and sand deposits along the Outaouais, growing with Schizachyrium scoparium and Sorghastrum nutans. It is an early-successional colonizer that establishes quickly from seed but gives way to later-successional species within a few years.
S46 cool-season, pioneer; S48 calcareous rive habitat; S7 sandy shores and dunes; S63 riviu00e8re des Outaouais
Permaculture & Companion Planting
Medicinal Properties ℹ
Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any plant for medicinal purposes. The information provided is compiled from secondary sources for educational purposes only.
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ℹ
Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any plant for medicinal purposes. The information provided is compiled from secondary sources for educational purposes only.
Click here for more info →- Category
- Ceremonial Medicine, Kidney Aid
S28 Iroquois Drug categories
- Notes
- Used by the Iroquois in compound decoctions: roots taken for kidney ailments and as treatment for stricture. Also used ceremonially as a seed-soak medicine for corn before planting.
S28 Iroquois Drug=Ceremonial Medicine, Kidney Aid, Other (stricture); Iroquois Other=Fertilizer
Edibility & Foraging ℹ
Never ingest a plant unless you have 100% certainty of its identity and have consulted multiple reputable sources. The information provided in the Localeaf Plant Database is compiled from secondary sources for educational and historical purposes only.
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ℹ
Never ingest a plant unless you have 100% certainty of its identity and have consulted multiple reputable sources. The information provided in the Localeaf Plant Database is compiled from secondary sources for educational and historical purposes only.
Click here for more info →✅ Edible
- Foraging Notes
- Seeds were gathered and used as food by the Gosiute and Ute peoples. The Kiowa used foliage and lemmas as livestock fodder. Seeds can be cleaned, dried, toasted, or ground into meal for porridge or coarse flour. A supplementary wild cereal rather than a primary staple.
S28 Gosiute, Ute, Kiowa food uses; S29 seed cooked, ground into flour
Seed Source
- Localeaf / OWSL