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Columbia brome, Columbian brome, common brome

chinook brome, narrow flower brome, woodland brome

Habit Plants perennial; not rhizomatous. Plants perennial; not rhizomatous.
Culms

60-120 cm, erect or spreading;

nodes (3)4-6(7), usually pilose;

internodes glabrous.

50-150 cm, erect or basally decumbent, often rooting from the lower nodes;

nodes 3-5(6), pubescent;

internodes usually glabrous, often puberulent-pubescent just below the nodes, rarely puberulent throughout.

Sheaths

pilose or glabrous;

auricles absent;

ligules 2-6 mm, glabrous, obtuse or truncate, erose or lacerate;

blades 13-25(33) cm long, to 14 mm wide, flat, abaxial surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes pilose, adaxial surfaces usually pilose, sometimes glabrous.

glabrous, sometimes slightly pubescent near the throat, sometimes with hairs in the auricular position;

auricles absent or vestigial on the basal leaves;

ligules 2-4.2 mm, glabrous, obtuse, lacerate;

blades 13-26 cm long, 4-10 mm wide, light green or glaucous, flat, glabrous, sometimes scabrous on both surfaces.

Panicles

10-15 cm, open;

branches ascending to drooping.

10-20 cm, open, nodding;

branches ascending to spreading, often drooping.

Spikelets

15-30 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed, with (3)4-9 florets.

23-35 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, terete to moderately laterally compressed, with 5-11 florets.

Glumes

glabrous or pilose;

lower glumes 5-8 mm, 1(3)-veined;

upper glumes 8-12 mm, 3-veined;

lemmas 8-15 mm, lanceolate, rounded over the midvein, backs sparsely hairy or glabrous, margins usually coarsely pubescent, sometimes glabrous, apices subulate to acute, entire;

awns (4)6-12 mm, straight, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices;

anthers 2-4 mm.

glabrous, sometimes scabrous, margins often bronze-tinged;

lower glumes 6-9 mm, 3-veined;

upper glumes 8-12 mm, 5-veined;

lemmas 12-16 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, rounded over the midvein, backs sparsely pilose, pubescent, or scabrous, margins densely pilose, at least on the lower 1/2, often bronze-tinged, apices acute to obtuse, entire, rarely slightly emarginate, lobes shorter than 1 mm;

awns 4-6 mm, straight, arising less than 1.5 mm below the lemma apices;

anthers 3.5-5 mm.

2n

= 14.

= 14.

Bromus vulgaris

Bromus laevipes

Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Bromus vulgaris grows in shaded or partially shaded, often damp, coniferous forests along the coast, and inland in montane pine, spruce, fir, and aspen forests, from sea level to about 2000 m. Its range extends from coastal British Columbia eastward to southwestern Alberta and southward to central California, northern Utah, and western Wyoming.

Varieties have been described within Bromus vulgaris; because their variation is overlapping, none are recognized here.

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

Bromus laevipes grows from northern Oregon to southern California. It grows in shaded woodlands and on exposed brushy slopes, at 300-1500 m.

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 216. FNA vol. 24, p. 209.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Bromeae > Bromus > sect. Bromopsis Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Bromeae > Bromus > sect. Bromopsis
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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms B. ciliatus var. glaberrimus
Name authority (Hook.) Shear Shear
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