Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Anisantha tectorum, B. tectorum var. glabratus, B. tectorum var. hirsutus B. tectorum var. nudus
Other common names
cheat brome
downy chess
downy brome
early chess
military grass
wild oats
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Introduced
Season
Cool
Disturbed sites, such as overgrazed rangelands, fields, sand dunes, roads, and waste places.
Plant Community
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
500
High elevation
6000
General Description
Erect, usually multi-stemmed annual grass with drooping seedheads that may form large stands on disturbed places. Many seeds are produced by such a small plant.
Highly invasive annual grass with many erect unbranched stems, 1 to 2 feet tall; blades flat and hairy; spikelet stems long and drooping; lemmas broad, rounded, apical teeth <1 mm long; awns straight, arising below the lemma apices, 1/2 inch long.
Grass type
Annual
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
12 inches or more
Seedhead Structure
Branched - open and spreading
Seedhead droops
Yes
First bloom month
May
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
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Open, with the spikelets drooping on slender stems, often purple. Lemmas hairy.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Blades short, 1/2 to 1-1/4 inches long, to 1/4 inch wide, covered with soft fine hairs.
Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Membranous
Auricles
No
Good when green before setting seedheads. After, poor sparse feed. Awns may penetrate facial tissues of grazing animals.