Bromus briziformis |
Bromus scoparius |
|
---|---|---|
rattlesnake brome, rattlesnake chess, rattlesnake grass |
broom brome |
|
Habit | Plants annual. | Plants annual. |
Culms | 20-62 cm, erect or ascending. |
(9)20-40 cm, erect or ascending. |
Sheaths | densely pilose; ligules 0.5-2 mm, hairy, obtuse, erose; blades 3-13 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, pilose to pubescent on both surfaces. |
sparsely pubescent or glabrous; ligules 0.8-1.5 mm, glabrous or hairy, obtuse; blades 5-20 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces pilose. |
Panicles | 5-15 cm long, 3-7 cm wide, open, secund, nodding; branches sometimes longer than the spikelets, curved to reflexed. |
2-7 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, erect, dense, obovoid, wedge-shaped at the base, sometimes interrupted; branches shorter than the spikelets, erect, straight or almost so, sometimes verticillate. |
Spikelets | 15-27 mm long, 8-12 mm wide, ovate, laterally compressed; florets 7-15, bases concealed at maturity; rachilla internodes concealed at maturity. |
12-25 mm, lanceolate, crowded, terete to moderately laterally compressed; florets 5-10, bases concealed at maturity; rachilla internodes concealed at maturity. |
Glumes | smooth or scabridulous; lower glumes 5-6 mm, 3-5-veined; upper glumes 6-8 mm, 7-9-veined; lemmas 9-10 mm long, 6-8 mm wide, inflated, obovate or rhombic, coriaceous, smooth or scabridulous, obscurely 9-veined, rounded over the midvein, margins hyaline, 1-1.3 mm wide, abruptly angled, not inrolled at maturity, apices acute to obtuse, bifid, teeth shorter than 1 mm; awns usually absent, sometimes to 1 mm, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices; anthers 0.7-1 mm. |
scabrous to pubescent; lower glumes 3-4 mm, 3-5-veined; upper glumes 5-7 mm, 5-7-veined; lemmas 7-10 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, lanceolate, glabrous, obscurely 7-veined, rounded over the midvein, margins rounded, not inrolled at maturity, apices sharply acute, bifid, teeth shorter than 1 mm; awns 7-10 mm, flattened at the base, divaricate or recurved when mature, arising 1.5 mm or more below the lemma apices; anthers 0.3-0.5 mm. |
Caryopses | equaling or shorter than the paleas, thin, weakly inrolled or flat. |
shorter than the paleas, thin, weakly inrolled or flat. |
2n | = 14. |
= 14. |
Bromus briziformis |
Bromus scoparius |
|
Distribution |
AK; CA; CO; CT; DE; ID; IL; IN; MA; MD; MI; MT; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; SD; UT; VT; WA; WY; BC; ON
|
CA; MI; NY; VA |
Discussion | Bromus briziformis grows in waste places, road verges, and overgrazed areas. It is native to southwest Asia and Europe, and is adventive in the Flora region, occurring from southern British Columbia to as far south as New Mexico, and in scattered locations eastward. The unique shape of its spikelets has led to its use in dried flower arrangements and as a garden ornamental. The common name may refer to the similarity of the spikelets to a rattlesnake's tail. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Bromus scoparius is native to southern Europe. It grows in waste places. In the Flora region, it has been recorded from Californica and New York. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 24, p. 228. | FNA vol. 24, p. 235. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Bromeae > Bromus > sect. Bromus | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Bromeae > Bromus > sect. Bromus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | B. brizaeformis | |
Name authority | Fisch. & C.A. Mey. | L. |
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