Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Bromus berterianus, Bromus trinii, Bromus trinii var. excelsus, Trisetobromus hirtus
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Introduced
Season
Cool
Open, sandy or gravelly soils.
Plant Community
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
1500
High elevation
3500
General Description
Stems erect and clustered, clump appearing tufted. Seedheads are 4 to 8 inches tall and erect, with branches appressed to spreading.
Panicles are erect and dense; spikelets are cylindrical; awns are usually bent, sometimes only spreading, bristle-like and arising below the lemma apex; lemma teeth are about 1/8 inch long.
Grass type
Annual
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
Less than 12 inches
Seedhead Structure
Branched - open and spreading
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
June
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
Multi-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
1/4 inch to 1 inch
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
Yes
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Spikelets have 3 to 7 fertile bisexual florets. Awns are bent and strongly to moderately twisted in the basal portion. Seedhead is open and spreading with 2 to 10 branches.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Leaf sheath mostly closed and clasping the stem, covered with stiff prickly hairs. Leaf blade is narrow, flat and sparsely to densely hairy.
Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
Yes
Ligule
Membranous
Auricles
No
Poor and usually grazed only in its early growth stage.