Briza minor
Briza media
annual quaking grass, little quaking grass, little rattlesnake grass, small quaking grass
amour du vent, amourette commune, perennial quaking grass, quaking grass
7.5-80 cm.
15-75 cm.
evenly distributed;
sheaths 1/2-1/4 the length of the internodes, open to near the base, margins hyaline distally;
ligules 4-13 mm, sides sometimes decurrent, margins at the base sometimes encasing the culms, truncate to acute;
blades 5.5-12 cm long, 1-8(10) mm wide, slightly scabrous.
mostly basal;
sheaths about 1/2 the length of the internodes, open about 1/2 their length;
ligules about 0.5 mm, usually not decurrent, sometimes erose at the apices, truncate;
blades 4-16 cm long, blades of the upper leaves shorter than those below, 1.9-3.2 mm wide, glabrous or scabridulous, margins strigose.
(2)4-14(18) cm long, to 11 cm wide;
pedicels 4-12 mm.
8-20 cm long, to almost as wide;
pedicels 5-20 mm.
(2)3-4(7) mm, triangular to oval, with 4-7(13) florets.
4-5.5 mm, mostly oval, with 3-6(10) florets.
2-2.5 mm;
upper glumes 2-3.5 mm;
lowermost lemmas 1.6-2 mm, frequently irregular in shape, becoming hyaline distally, glabrous, sometimes minutely scurfy, veins indistinct;
paleas about 1.5 mm, often minutely scurfy;
anthers 0.4-0.5 mm.
2.5-3.2 mm;
upper glumes 2.5-4 mm;
lowermost lemmas 3-4 mm, indistinctly 9- or 10-veined, apices broadly obtuse;
paleas about 3 mm, V-shaped in cross section, scarious, margins hyaline and ciliolate;
anthers 1.3-2 mm.
0.8-1 mm, ovoid.
1.2-1.5 mm, distinctly flattened on 1 side.
= 10, 14.
= 10, 14, 28.
Briza minor
Briza media
Briza minor is native to the Mediterranean region. It is the most widespread species of Briza in the Flora region, growing in many habitats: swamp margins, seasonal wetlands and around vernal pools, open woodlands, sandhills, roadsides, and pastures. It appears to be established from southern British Columbia south through western Oregon to California and Arizona, and in the east from the Atlantic states to the Gulf Coast states, inland to Oklahoma and Arkansas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Briza media is native to chalk and clay grasslands of Europe. It grows in acid to calcareous soils in moist to somewhat dry, sunny conditions, in meadow floodplains, forest clearings, old meadows, and pastures. It is often grown as an ornamental, and can colonize artificial habitats such as roadsides, but does not appear to invade recently disturbed locations. In the Flora region, it is most abundant in eastern North America, and is found in a few widely scattered locations elsewhere.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
MI Flora
