Elymus, spikegrass, elymus

Family: Poaceae (grasses). The genus includes 45 species, 35 of which occur in our country.

Cultivated species:

Sand elymus (E. arenarius L.) - an ornamental-leaved rhizomatous perennial up to 120 cm tall.

Leaves linear, stiff, glaucous-green, covered with a waxy bloom. Flowers small in a many-flowered spike-like inflorescence. Blooms in June–July. Propagated by division and by seed;

Giant elymus (Е. giganteum Wahl.) - a clump up to 120 cm tall, with a creeping rhizome and narrow arching glaucous-green leaves. Very attractive.

Both species are light-loving and drought-tolerant. They grow successfully on sandy soil.

Used for specimen plantings and small groups on lawns, rock gardens, and for stabilizing sandy slopes.