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nodding brome, Porter brome, Porter's brome

corn brome, hairy corn brome, squarrose brome

Habit Plants perennial; not rhizomatous. Plants annual.
Culms

30-100 cm, erect;

nodes (2)3-4(5), glabrous or pubescent;

internodes mostly glabrous, puberulent near the nodes.

20-60 cm, erect or geniculately ascending.

Sheaths

glabrous or pilose, midrib of the culm leaves not abruptly narrowed just below the collar;

auricles absent;

ligules to 2.5 mm, glabrous, truncate or obtuse, erose or lacerate;

blades (3)10-25(35) cm long, 2-5(6) mm wide, flat, not glaucous, both surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes the adaxial surface pilose.

Panicles

7-20 cm, open, nodding, often 1-sided;

branches slender, ascending to spreading, often recurved and flexuous.

7-20 cm long, 4-8 cm wide, racemose, open, nodding, often with few spikelets, usually secund;

branches sometimes longer than the spikelets, ascending-spreading, flexuous, slightly curved, usually with 1 spikelet.

Spikelets

12-38 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed, with (3)5-11(13) florets.

15-70 mm, broadly oblong or ovate-lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed;

florets 8-30, bases concealed at maturity;

rachilla internodes concealed at maturity.

Glumes

usually pubescent, rarely glabrous;

lower glumes 5-7(9) mm, usually 3-veined, sometimes 1-veined;

upper glumes 6-10 mm, 3-veined, not mucronate;

lemmas 8-14 mm, elliptic, rounded over the midvein, usually pubescent or pilose, margins often with longer hairs, backs and margins rarely glabrous, apices acute or obtuse to truncate, entire;

awns (1)2-3(3.5) mm, straight, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices;

anthers (1)2-3 mm.

smooth or scabrous;

lower glumes 4.5-7 mm, 3-5(7)-veined;

upper glumes 6-8 mm, 7-veined;

lemmas 8-11 mm long, 2-2.4 mm wide, lanceolate, chartaceous, smooth or scabridulous, 7-9-veined, rounded over the midvein, margins hyaline, 0.6-0.9 mm wide, strongly angled above the middle, not inrolled at maturity, apices acute, bifid, teeth shorter than 1 mm;

awns 8-10 mm, flattened and sometimes twisted at the base, divaricate at maturity, arising 1.5 mm or more below the lemma apices;

anthers 1-1.3 mm.

Caryopses

equaling the paleas, thin, weakly inrolled or flat.

Lower

sheaths densely pilose;

ligules 1-1.5 mm, hairy, obtuse, erose, ciliolate;

blades 5-15 cm long, 4-6 mm wide, densely pilose on both surfaces.

2n

= 14.

= 14.

Bromus porteri

Bromus squarrosus

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; SD; TX; UT; WY; MB; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; CO; CT; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MI; MO; MT; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NY; OR; PA; SD; VT; WA; WI; WY; HI; AB; BC; MB; NT; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Bromus porteri grows in montane meadows, grassy slopes, mesic steppes, forest edges, and open forest habitats, at 500-3500 m. It is found from British Columbia to Manitoba, and south to California, western Texas, and Mexico. It is closely related to B. anomalus, and has often been included in that species. It differs chiefly in its lack of auricles, and in having culm leaves with midribs that are not narrowed just below the collar.

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

Bromus squarrosus grows in overgrazed pastures, fields, waste places, and road verges. Native to central Russia and southern Europe, it can be found mainly in southern Canada and the northern half of the United States.

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 213. FNA vol. 24, p. 237.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Bromeae > Bromus > sect. Bromopsis Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Bromeae > Bromus > sect. Bromus
Sibling taxa
B. aleutensis, B. anomalus, B. arenarius, B. arizonicus, B. arvensis, B. berteroanus, B. briziformis, B. carinatus, B. caroli-henrici, B. catharticus, 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. 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. aleutensis, B. anomalus, B. arenarius, B. arizonicus, B. arvensis, B. berteroanus, B. briziformis, B. carinatus, B. caroli-henrici, B. catharticus, 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. sterilis, B. suksdorfii, B. tectorum, B. texensis, B. vulgaris
Synonyms Bromopsis ported
Name authority (J.M. Coult.) Nash L.
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