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rescue brome, rescue grass, rescuegras

Photo is of parent taxon

rescue grass

Habit Plants annual, biennial, or perennial; loosely cespitose or tufted. Plants annual or biennial; tufted.
Culms

30-120 cm tall, 2-4 mm thick, erect or decumbent.

30-120 cm, erect or decumbent.

Sheaths

usually densely, often retrorsely, hairy, hairs sometimes confined to the throat;

auricles absent;

ligules 1-4 mm, glabrous or pilose, obtuse, lacerate to erose;

blades 4-30 cm long, 3-10 mm wide, flat, glabrous or hairy on both surfaces.

usually densely, often retrorsely, hairy, hairs sometimes confined to the throat;

ligules 1-4 mm, glabrous or pilose, erose;

blades 4-26 cm long, 3-10 mm wide, glabrous or hairy on both surfaces.

Panicles

9-28 cm, usually open, erect or nodding;

lower branches shorter than 10 cm, 1-4 per node, spreading or ascending, with up to 5 spikelets variously distributed.

9-28 cm, open, erect or nodding;

lower branches 1-4 per node, spreading or ascending, with 1-5 spikelets.

Spikelets

(17)20-40 mm, shorter than at least some pedicels and branches, elliptic to lanceolate, strongly laterally compressed, not crowded or overlapping, with 4-12 florets.

20-30 mm, with 6-12 florets.

Glumes

smooth or scabrous, glabrous or pubescent;

lower glumes 7-12 mm, 5-7(9)-veined;

upper glumes 9-17 mm, 7-9(11)-veined, shorter than the lowest lemma;

lemmas 11-20 mm, lanceolate, laterally compressed, strongly keeled, usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent distally, smooth or scabrous, 9-13-veined, veins often raised and riblike, margins sometimes conspicuous, hyaline, whitish or partly purplish, apices entire or toothed, teeth acute, shorter than 1 mm;

awns absent or to 10 mm;

anthers 0.5-1 mm in cleistogamous florets, 2-5 mm in chasmogamous florets.

Lower

glumes 5-7-veined;

upper glumes 9-13 mm, (7)9(11)-veined;

lemmas 11-20 mm, glabrous or scabrous, sometimes pubescent distally, (9)11-13-veined;

awns absent or to 3.5 mm;

anthers about 0.5 mm in cleistogamous florets, 2-4 mm in chasmogamous florets.

2n

= 42.

= 42.

Bromus catharticus

Bromus catharticus var. catharticus

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; DC; FL; GA; IA; IL; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; HI; AB; NF; ON
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Discussion

Bromus catharticus var. catharticus is native to South America. It has been widely introduced in the flora region as a forage crop and is now established, particularly in the southern half of the United States. It usually grows on disturbed soils.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Awns absent or to 3.5 mm long
var. catharticus
1. Awns (5)6-10 mm long
var. elatus
Source FNA vol. 24, p. 199. FNA vol. 24, p. 199.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Bromeae > Bromus > sect. Ceratochloa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Bromeae > Bromus > sect. Ceratochloa > Bromus catharticus
Sibling taxa
B. aleutensis, B. anomalus, B. arenarius, B. arizonicus, B. arvensis, B. berteroanus, B. briziformis, B. carinatus, B. caroli-henrici, B. ciliatus, B. commutatus, B. danthoniae, B. diandrus, B. erectus, B. frondosus, B. grandis, B. hallii, B. hordeaceus, B. inermis, B. japonicus, B. kalmii, B. laevipes, B. lanatipes, B. lanceolatus, B. latiglumis, B. lepidus, B. madritensis, B. maritimus, B. mucroglumis, B. nottowayanus, B. orcuttianus, B. pacificus, B. polyanthus, B. porteri, B. pseudolaevipes, B. pubescens, B. pumpellianus, B. racemosus, B. ramosus, B. richardsonii, B. riparius, B. rubens, B. scoparius, B. secalinus, B. sitchensis, B. squarrosus, B. sterilis, B. suksdorfii, B. tectorum, B. texensis, B. vulgaris
B. catharticus var. elatus
Subordinate taxa
B. catharticus var. catharticus, B. catharticus var. elatus
Synonyms Ceratochloa unioloides, B. willdenowii, B. unioloides
Name authority Vahl unknown
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