Bromus briziformis
Encyclopedia
Bromus briziformis is a species of brome grass
known by the common name rattlesnake brome.
It is native to Eurasia
and it can be found in North America as an introduced species
. It is an annual grass growing up to 70 centimeters tall. The inflorescence
is an open arrangement of nodding, flat spikelets. Each spikelet is composed of rounded fruits which are layered and resemble the rattle of a rattlesnake
. The Latin name of the grass comes from its resemblance to grasses of the genus Briza
, particularly Briza maxima
.
Bromus
Bromus is a large genus of the grass family . Estimates in the scientific literature of the number of species have ranged from 100 to 400, but plant taxonomists currently recognize around 160–170 species...
known by the common name rattlesnake brome.
It is native to Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
and it can be found in North America as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. It is an annual grass growing up to 70 centimeters tall. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is an open arrangement of nodding, flat spikelets. Each spikelet is composed of rounded fruits which are layered and resemble the rattle of a rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...
. The Latin name of the grass comes from its resemblance to grasses of the genus Briza
Briza
Briza is a genus of annual grasses in the family Poaceae, native to north temperate regions. The group is generally referred to as the quaking grasses because the flower and seedheads shake on their stalks in the slightest breeze...
, particularly Briza maxima
Briza maxima
Briza maxima is a species of the genus Briza, as such it is an annual grass in the family Poaceae. It is native to Northern Africa, the Azores, Western Asia and Southern Europe and is cultivated or naturalised in the British Isles, Australasia, the west of the United States, Central and South...
.