Slender Wheatgrass
Elymus trachycaulus
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Height
- ranging from 6 to 48 inches
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to average

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
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Leaves · Bloom
Bloom: NC species account not read yet.
Spread, light 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 2 West Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 37 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (39)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Cooper's Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Eastern Kingbird
- European Starling
- Fox Sparrow
- Gray Catbird
- Great Horned Owl
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Veery
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
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
1BirdsRecorded eating Elymus in West Virginia
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.
- Snow Bunting2 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.
- Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalis
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Green
What its natural habitat tells you
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “ranging from 6 to 48 inches” · Fire Effects Information System: Elymus trachycaulus (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs) · Source botanical description; original units and scope retained
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Agropyron trachycaulum
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S2 |
|---|---|
| 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
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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


