The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

soft chess

Pacific brome

Habit Annual, the culms 2-7 dm. tall, usually soft-pubescent throughout.
Leaves

Sheaths closed;

ligules 0.5-1 mm. long, hairy;

blades flat, 1.5-4 mm. broad.

Flowers

Inflorescence an erect, narrow, crowded panicle 3-10 cm. long, the spikelets exceeding the pedicles;

spikelets 5- to 7-flowered, 1-2 cm. long; first glume 4-6 mm. long, lanceolate, the second slightly longer and wider;

lemmas 6.5-8.5 mm. long, the area between the nerves depressed and concave;

lemmas with straight awns 6-10 mm. long from a bifid apex.

Bromus hordeaceus

Bromus pacificus

Flowering time April-July May-June
Habitat Prairies, bluffs, grasslands, waste ground, roadsides, dry hillsides, and other disturbed areas. Meadows and forest openingsat low elevations, often near or along the coast.
Distribution
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Baja California, east to Idaho and Montana.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Introduced from Europe Native
Conservation status Not of concern Not of concern
Sibling taxa
B. arenarius, B. briziformis, B. ciliatus, B. commutatus, B. diandrus, B. erectus, B. inermis, B. japonicus, B. madritensis, B. orcuttianus, B. pacificus, B. pumpellianus, B. racemosus, B. rubens, B. secalinus, B. sitchensis, B. squarrosus, B. sterilis, B. suksdorfii, B. tectorum, B. vulgaris
B. arenarius, B. briziformis, B. ciliatus, B. commutatus, B. diandrus, B. erectus, B. hordeaceus, B. inermis, B. japonicus, B. madritensis, B. orcuttianus, B. pumpellianus, B. racemosus, B. rubens, B. secalinus, B. sitchensis, B. squarrosus, B. sterilis, B. suksdorfii, B. tectorum, B. vulgaris
Web links