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“Assignment 7: Revised Wikipedia Assignment” 12/8/15 Link to real Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elymus_hystrix

Elymus hystrix, known as bottlebrush grass, is a bunchgrass in the grass family, Poaceae. It is native to the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada.

Description
Elymus hystrix is a herbaceous plant with alternate, simple leaves, on erect stems. The flowers are white and bloom in spring. Elymus hystrix ranges from approximately two and a half to four and a half feet in height. There are usually two spikelets at each of the five to nine nodes of the plant. Unlike some similar native grasses, the blades of Elymus hystrix do not have glumes surrounding its spikelets.

Range and Growing Conditions
Elymus hystrix is found along the East Coast of the United States as well as in Eastern Canada. It is usually found in rocky, wet, and partially shaded habitat such as near rivers, creeks, or woods. Elymus hystrix does not grow well in heavily shaded areas and often inhabits the regions on the edge of shaded wooded areas such as forests. Growth of Elymus hystrix appears to be inhibited by excess shade, but is relatively resistant to soil compaction when compared to other herbaceous plant species.

Life Cycle
Elymus hystrix can reproduce using its own pollen and is thus said to be "self-compatible". Elymus hystrix is a perennial meaning it does not completely die at the end of each season, but comes back the next year.

Genetics
Elymus hystrix has multiple copies of its genome. Elymus hystrix has four such copies, exhibiting a type of polyploidy called tetraploidy.

Classification Debate
Recent phylogenetic studies suggest that some hystrix taxa may actually fall within the genus Leymus while others are accurately classified as belonging to the genus Elymus As more differentiation in genome type has been discovered amongst Hystrix species, phylogenists have raised questions regarding how to classify species that are morphologically similar, yet display differences in genomic origin. Some species' genomes resemble other Elymus species while others more closely resemble Leymus species. The North American Hystrix patula Moench has been chosen as the type species against which other Hystrix species are compared. Hystrix patula has a similar genome to other Elymus species and thus it is reasonable to include it in that genus based on genomic system classification criteria.

Potential as a Food Crop
Mus musculus, or mice, feed on Elymus seeds. It is reasonable that through domestication and enhancement of seed size and nutritional value seeds of Elymus hystrix could be useful for consumption by other vertebrates such as humans. Similar species of grasses are eaten by livestock throughout the United States. Other Elymus species have been found to be high in crude protein when compared to other native grasses, but research is needed to investigate whether specifically Elymus hystrix also exhibits this trait. It is also not immediately evident how nutritious the herbaceous grassy portion of the plant would be to humans, but potential for Elymus hystrix as a food source for livestock is also of interest.