Riverbank Wild-rye
Elymus riparius
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in moist forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- About 4.5 feet
- Light
- Part shade, Shade
- Soil moisture
- Average to moist
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Bloom
- July to September
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 10 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 69 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (58)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Baltimore Oriole
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hooded Merganser
- Indigo Bunting
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Orchard Oriole
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
20CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Elymus
- Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Apamea lignicoloraWood-Colored Apamea
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Helcystogramma hystricellaLanceolate Helcystogramma, Lanceolate Moth
- Lethe anthedonNorthern Pearly Eye
- Leucania commoidesDusky Wainscot, Comma Wainscot
- Leucania multilineaMany-Lined Wainscot
Show all 20
- Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
- Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Nephelodes miniansBronzed Cutworm
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Polites themistoclesTawny-Edged Skipper
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Elachista illectella
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded eating Elymus in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- Greater White-fronted GooseLeaves. 2 diet records
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Elymus 1
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Dark green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Dark green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 4.5 feet” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Part shade (3–6 hours); Shade (under 3 hours)” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Soil · “Wet-mesic; Mesic” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Also known as
Eastern Riverbank Wild Rye; Riverbank Wild rye
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | S1S2 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications