wild rye

American  

noun

1. any grass of the genus Elymus, somewhat resembling rye.

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wild rye British  

noun

1. any of various perennial grasses of the N temperate genus Elymus, resembling cultivated rye in having paired bristly ears or spikes and flat leaves

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Etymology

Origin of wild rye

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wild rye

They also are restoring burned areas with native plants, including coastal sagebrush species and giant wild rye.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2019

The park has 335 acres of green space seeded with fescue, bluestem, wild rye and other native grasses.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 9, 2014

A Canadian wild rye, new as a forage crop, promises heavier yields than the common meadow grass.

From Time Magazine Archive

And in the evenings towards sunset they walked together in the fields, and Mary followed them, lagging behind in the borders where the sharlock and wild rye and poppies grew.

From Mary Olivier: a Life by Sinclair, May

Occasionally there were spacious plains covered with wild rye; natural meadows, with blue grass and clover; and buffaloes, thirty and forty at a time, grazing on them, as in a cultivated pasture.

From Life of George Washington — Volume 01 by Irving, Washington