Bromus tectorum
Bromus polyanthus
cheat brome, cheat grass, downy brome, downy chess, drooping brome
Colorado brome, great-basin brome
5-90 cm, erect, slender, puberulent below the panicle.
60-120 cm tall, to 3 mm thick, erect, glabrous or puberulent.
usually densely and softly retrorsely pubescent to pilose, upper sheaths sometimes glabrous;
auricles absent;
ligules 2-3 mm, glabrous, obtuse, lacerate;
blades to 16 cm long, 1-6 mm wide, both surfaces softly hairy.
usually smooth or scabrous, sometimes hairy except at the throat;
auricles absent;
ligules (1)2-2.5 mm, glabrous, obtuse, erose;
blades 10-31 cm long, 2-9 mm wide, flat, sometimes scabrous, usually glabrous, rarely puberulent to pubescent near the collar.
5-20 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, open, lax, drooping distally, usually 1-sided;
branches 1-4 cm, drooping, usually 1-sided and longer than the spikelets, usually at least 1 branch with 4-8 spikelets.
10-20 cm, open to somewhat contracted;
lower branches shorter than 10 cm, (1)2-3 per node, erect, ascending or spreading, with 1-2 spikelets variously distributed.
10-20 mm, usually shorter than the panicle branches, sides parallel or diverging distally, moderately laterally compressed, often purplish-tinged, not densely crowded, with 4-8 florets.
20-35 mm, shorter than at least some pedicels and branches, elliptic to lanceolate, strongly laterally compressed, not crowded or overlapping, with 6-11 florets.
villous, pubescent, or glabrous, margins hyaline;
lower glumes 4-9 mm, 1-veined;
upper glumes 7-13 mm, 3-5-veined;
lemmas 9-12 mm, lanceolate, glabrous or pubescent to pilose, 5-7-veined, rounded over the midvein, margins hyaline, often with some hairs longer than those on the backs, apices acuminate, hyaline, bifid, teeth 0.8-2(3) mm;
awns 10-18 mm, straight, arising 1.5 mm or more below the lemma apices;
anthers 0.5-1 mm.
smooth or scabrous;
lower glumes (5.5)7-10(11.5) mm, 3-veined;
upper glumes (7.5) 9-11(12.5) mm, 5-7-veined, shorter than the lowest lemma;
lemmas 12-15 mm, lanceolate, laterally compressed, strongly keeled at least distally, glabrous, sometimes scabrous, 7-9-veined, veins usually not raised or riblike, apices entire or with acute teeth, teeth shorter than 1 mm;
awns 4-7 mm;
anthers 1-5 mm.
= 14.
= 56.
Bromus tectorum
Bromus polyanthus
Bromus tectorum is a European species that is well established in the Flora region and other parts of the world. It grows in disturbed sites, such as overgrazed rangelands, fields, sand dunes, road verges, and waste places. In the southwestern United States, Bromus tectorum is considered a good source of spring feed for cattle, at least until the awns mature. It is highly competitive and dominates rapidly after fire, especially in sagebrush areas. The resulting dense, fine fuels permanently shorten the fire-return interval, further hindering reestablishment of native species. It now dominates large areas of the sagebrush ecosystem of the western Flora region.
Specimens with glabrous spikelets have been called Bromus tectorum f. nudus (Klett & Richt.) H. St. John. They occur throughout the range of the species, and are not known to have any other distinguishing characteristics. For this reason, they are not given formal recognition in this treatment.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Bromus polyanthus grows on open slopes and in meadows. It is found primarily in the central Rocky Mountains, but the limits of its range include British Columbia in the north, California in the west, and Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas in the south. It is not known from Mexico. It intergrades with B. carinatus var. marginatus. Plants with an erect, contracted panicle and awns 4-6 mm long can be called B. polyanthus var. polyanthus; those with with an open, nodding panicle and awns up to 8 mm long can be called B. polyanthus var. paniculatus Shear. Because the variation in both characters is continuous, the varieties are not recognized here.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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