UW Burke Herbarium species comparison

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Bromus tectorum

Bromus commutatus

cheat grass

meadow brome
Habit Annual, the culms 2-9 dm. tall, erect.
Leaves

Sheaths closed, covered with spreading, soft hairs;

ligules 0.5-1.5 mm. long;

blades flat, hairy, 2-5 mm. broad.
Flowers

Inflorescence a loose panicle 7-15 cm. long, the branches ascending to spreading, the pedicles longer than the spikelets;

spikelets 5- to 9-flowered, oblong-lanceolate, flattened, 13-20 mm. long; first glume 5-7 mm. long, 3-nerved, the second slightly longer, 7-nerved;

lemmas 9-10 mm. long with awns 4-10 mm. long from a bifid apex;

paleas 1-2 mm. shorter.

Bromus tectorum

Bromus commutatus
Flowering time March-June June-August
Habitat Sagebrush desert, grasslands, prairies, meadows, balds, roadsides, wastelots, and other distrubed open areas from low to middle elevations. Waste ground, meadows, and roadsides.
Distribution
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Baja California, Mexico, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
[WildflowerSearch map]
Origin Introduced from Europe Introduced from Europe
Conservation status Not of concern Not of concern
Sibling taxa
B. arenarius, B. briziformis, B. ciliatus, B. commutatus, B. diandrus, B. erectus, B. hordeaceus, 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. vulgaris
B. arenarius, B. briziformis, B. ciliatus, B. diandrus, B. erectus, B. hordeaceus, 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
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the University of Washington's Burke Herbarium.



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