Bromus sect. Bromopsis
elliptic to lanceolate, more or less terete initially, sometimes becoming laterally compressed at anthesis, with (3)4-14(16) florets.
1-3-veined;
upper glumes 3-5-veined;
lemmas elliptic to lanceolate, rounded over the midvein, apices subulate, acute, obtuse or rounded, entire or slightly emarginate;
awns straight, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices.
Bromus sect. Bromopsis
Bromus sect. Bromopsis is sometimes incorrectly called sect. Pnigma Dumort. It is native to Eurasia as well as to North and South America, and has about 90 species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Plants rhizomatous. | → 2 |
2. Culms 30-90 cm long, forming distinct clumps; rhizomes short | B. riparius |
2. Culms 50-135 cm long, single or few together; rhizomes short to long-creeping. | → 3 |
3. Lemma backs sparsely to densely hairy throughout, or on the lower portion and margins, or along the marginal veins and keel; cauline nodes and leaf blades pubescent or glabrous; awns usually present, to 7.5 mm long, sometimes absent | B. pumpellianus |
3. Lemma backs usually glabrous, occasionally sparsely puberulent at the base and sometimes on the margins; cauline nodes and leaf blades usually glabrous, rarely hairy; awns absent or to 3 mm long | B. inermis |
1. Plants not rhizomatous. | → 4 |
4. Anthers (3.5)4-6(6.8) mm long; awns 2.5-7.5 mm long; plants of the Yukon River drainage of Alaska | B. pumpellianus |
4. Anthers 1-7 mm long; awns 1-12 mm long; plants of various locations in the Flora region, if in the Yukon River drainage of Alaska, anthers 1-1.4 mm long. | → 5 |
5. Culms with 9-20 nodes; collars and throats densely pilose; auricles 1-2.5 mm long on most lower leaves | B. latiglumis |
5. Culms with (1)2-9 nodes; collars and throats pubescent or glabrous; auricles, if present, of various lengths. | → 6 |
6. Most lower glumes within a panicle 3-veined, sometimes some 1-veined. | → 7 |
7. Most upper glumes within a panicle 5-veined, sometimes some 3-veined. | → 8 |
8. Awns 1.5-3 mm long; anthers 1.5-2.5 mm long; ligules 0.5-1 mm long | B. kalmii |
8. Awns 3-7 mm long; anthers 3-6 mm long; ligules to 4.2 mm long. | → 9 |
9. Glumes glabrous; ligules glabrous | B. laevipes |
9. Glumes usually pubescent, rarely glabrous; ligules usually pubescent or pilose, sometimes glabrous. | → 10 |
10. Margins of the glumes and lemmas often bronze-tinged; ligules to 1.5 mm long; auricles usually present on the lower leaves, rarely absent | B. pseudolaevipes |
10. Margins of the glumes and lemmas not bronze-tinged; ligules 1-3 mm long; auricles sometimes present | B. grandis |
7. Most upper glumes within a panicle 3-veined, sometimes some 5-veined. | → 11 |
11. Culms 70-180 cm tall; awns 3-8 mm long; anthers 3-6 mm long. | → 12 |
12. Lower leaf sheaths pilose, hairs 2-4 mm long; blades glabrous or with pilose margins | B. orcuttianus |
12. Lower leaf sheaths densely pubescent, hairs to 1 mm long; blades densely pubescent. | → 13 |
13. Blades 7.5-16.5 cm long; culm nodes 1-2(3) | B. hallii |
13. Blades (13)18-38 cm long; culm nodes 3-7 | B. grandis |
11. Culms 30-100 cm tall; awns 1—4 mm long; anthers (1)1.5-4 mm long. | → 14 |
14. Leaf blades often glaucous; glumes usually glabrous, rarely slightly pubescent | B. frondosus |
14. Leaf blades not glaucous; glumes usually pubescent, rarely glabrous. | → 15 |
15. Midrib of the culm leaves abruptly narrowed just below the collar; auricles frequently present on the lower leaves; plants of western Texas | B. anomalus |
15. Midrib of the culm leaves not abruptly narrowed just below the collar; auricles absent; plants of western North America, including Texas | B. porteri |
6. Most lower glumes within a panicle 1-veined, sometimes some 3-veined. | → 16 |
16. Upper glumes within a panicle consistently 5-veined; collars with a dense line of hairs; lower sheaths often sericeous; ligules 0.4-1 mm long | B. nottowayanus |
16. All or most upper glumes within a panicle 3-veined, sometimes some with 2 additional faint lateral veins; collars glabrous or hairy, hairs evenly distributed over the surface, not in a dense line; lower sheaths glabrous or hairy, not sericeous; ligules to 6 mm long. | → 17 |
17. Plants annual; lemmas glabrous; ligules pubescent | B. texensis |
17. Plants perennial; lemmas usually pubescent on the backs and/or margins, sometimes glabrous; ligules usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent or pilose. | → 18 |
18. Awns (4)6-12 mm long; ligules 2-6 mm long | B. vulgaris |
18. Awns 1-8 mm long; ligules to 4 mm long. | → 19 |
19. Blades densely pubescent on both surfaces, 7.5-16.5 cm long; anthers 3-6 mm long; awns 3.5-7 mm long | B. hallii |
19. Blades glabrous or hairy on 1 or both surfaces, (3)5-60 cm long, if 7.5-16.5 cm long and densely pubescent on both surfaces, then anthers 1-4 mm long and/or awns 1-4 mm long. | → 20 |
20. Panicle branches appressed to slightly spreading; culm nodes 1-4. | → 21 |
21. Awns 2-5 mm long; anthers 2-3.5 mm long; blades flat | B. suksdorfii |
21. Awns (4)5-8 mm long; anthers 3-6.5 mm long; blades sometimes involute. | → 22 |
22. Culms 90-150 cm tall; ligules 1-3 mm long. | B. orcuttianus |
22. Culms 50-100 cm tall; ligules to 1.5 mm long | B. erectus |
20. Panicle branches ascending to drooping; culm nodes (1)2-8. | → 21 |
23. Midrib of the culm leaves abruptly narrowed just below the collar; auricles frequently present on the lower leaves; plants of western Texas | B. anomalus |
23. Midrib of the culm leaves not abruptly narrowed just below the collar; auricles sometimes present; plants of various distribution, including Texas. | → 24 |
24. Glumes usually pubescent, rarely glabrous. | → 25 |
25. Upper glume mucronate | B. mucroglumis |
25. Upper glume not mucronate. | → 26 |
26. Awns (1)2-3(3.5) mm long; blades 2-6 mm wide | B. porteri |
26. Awns 3-7(8) mm long; blades 3-19 mm wide. | → 27 |
27. Anthers 3-6 mm long; ligules densely pubescent to pilose | B. grandis |
27. Anthers 2-4(5) mm long; ligules glabrous. | → 28 |
28. Ligules 2-4 mm long | B. pacificus |
28. Ligules 0.5-2 mm long | B. pubescens |
24. Glumes usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent. | → 29 |
29. Ligules 2-3.5 mm long; auricles present | B. ramosus |
29. Ligules 0.4-2 mm long; auricles sometimes present. | → 30 |
30. Lemma margins and backs usually pubescent, sometimes nearly glabrous; awns 2-4 mm long; anthers 1.8-4 mm long | B. lanatipes |
30. Lemma margins conspicuously hirsute or densely pilose, at least along the lower 1/2, the backs glabrous at least on the lower lemmas in a spikelet; awns 3-5 mm long; anthers 1-2.7 mm long. | → 31 |
31. Backs of all lemmas glabrous; anthers 1-1.4 mm long; upper glumes 7.1-8.5 mm long | B. ciliatus |
31. Backs of the upper lemmas in a spikelet hairy; anthers 1.6-2.7 mm long; upper glumes 8.9-11.3 mm long | B. richardsonii |
