Notice of Release of ‘Trailhead II’ basin wildrye

Abstract

‘Trailhead II’ basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus (Scribn. & Merr.) Á. Löve [Poaceae]) is a tetraploid basin wildrye release for use in re-vegetation efforts on rangelands of western North America. Trailhead II is the result of 2 cycles of recurrent selection within the basin wildrye cultivar ‘Trailhead’ for rapid seedling emergence from deep seeding. Trailhead II is genetically distinct from Trailhead. Additionally, in comparisons between Trailhead II and Trailhead, Trailhead II possessed higher total emergence and more rapid emergence from deep seeding (7.6 cm [3 in]) and exhibited higher seedling establishment at 3 of 5 field sites where it was evaluated in Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The release of Trailhead II basin wildrye improves this native germplasm to enhance the success of conservation and re-vegetation plantings in the Intermountain West and Northern Great Plains areas of the US and Canada.