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Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Virginia Wildrye

Elymus virginicus
native · Hill Country

Virginia Wildrye is a grass native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 3–4 ft tall and 2 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and medium water, and handles clay soil. Blooms yellow in early spring. Good for butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

6 sources
Type
Grass
Sun
Full sun to part shade (3–6 hrs of direct sun)
Water
Medium
Height
3–4 ft
Spread
2 ft
Bloom
Early Spring · yellow
Foliage
Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil
Takes clay · recorded on clay, loam, moist, rich, sand, well drained
Wildlife
Supports butterflies

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

600 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.