Salt-marsh Wild-rye
Elymus virginicus var. halophilus
Found in brackish marshes, brackish marsh borders, maritime forests and hammocks, maritime thickets. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- Up to about 32 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom
Bloom: NC species account not read yet.
Spread and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 4 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Who uses this plant?
26CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Elymus
- Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Apamea devastatorGlassy Borer, Glassy Cutworm Moth
- Apamea lignicoloraWood-Colored Apamea
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Clepsis persicanaWhite Triangle Tortrix
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Hydraecia immanisHop Borer, Hop Vine Borer
- Lethe anthedonNorthern Pearly Eye
Show all 26
- Leucania commoidesDusky Wainscot, Comma Wainscot
- Leucania insuetaDarted Wainscot, Heterodox Wainscot
- Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
- Leucania pseudargyriaFalse Wainscot
- Limochores mysticLong Dash
- Lon zabulonZabulon Skipper
- Loscopia velataVeiled Ear Moth, Veiled Grass Moth
- 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
- Apamea lutosa
- Elachista illectella
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Elymus
- Alectoris chukarChukar
- Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. 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
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Green
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 32 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Elymus virginicus var. halophilus; Salt marsh Wild rye
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SU |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T4 |
| VA 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
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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