Early Wild-rye
Elymus macgregorii
Native to West Virginia (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 53%
- Height
- Up to about 4 feet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Soil · Leaves · Bloom
Bloom: NC species account not read yet.
Spread, light, soil and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
County records are not available.
Who uses this plant?
25CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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
- Ctenucha virginicaVirginia Ctenucha
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Lethe anthedonNorthern Pearly Eye
Show all 25
- Leucania commoidesDusky Wainscot, Comma 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
- Yellow, green or brown
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Yellow, green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 4 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Early Wild Rye
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV 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
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- West Virginia 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