Poaceae FAMILY

Leymus arenarius

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Leymus arenarius is a perennial, clump-forming grass with creeping rhizomes; it produces erect, stout culms around 60 - 200cm tall, spreading to form large colonies. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials. A nutritious food, it was cultivated by the Vikings as a cereal crop in the past in areas such as Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland, and has the potential to be grown in the artic regions where no other suitable agricultural crop is forthcoming[ 1958 Title A "Lost" Viking Cereal Grain Publication J.Ethnobiol 1 (2): 200-207 1981 Author Griffin L.C. & Rowlett R.M. Publisher Year 1981 ISBN Description ]. It has an extensive root system and is often grown along coasts in order to bind the sand.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeNorthern and western Europe - Scandanavia, Britain and Spain, east to western Russia and Ukraine

HabitatOpen sand and dunes by the coast, often in association with Ammophila arenaria[ 17 Title Flora of the British Isles. Publication Author Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. Publisher Cambridge University Press Year 1962 ISBN - Description A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures. ].