Bromus carinatus
Encyclopedia
Bromus carinatus is a species of brome grass
known by the common names California brome and mountain brome.
It is native to western North America from Alaska
to northern Mexico
, where it can be found in many types of habitat. It is known in parts of the American midwest and eastern North America as an introduced species
.
is a spreading or drooping array of flat spikelets longer than they are wide.
The grass is wind-pollinated but is also sometimes cleistogamous
, so that the flowers pollinate themselves, especially under stressful conditions. It also reproduces vegetatively
via tiller
s.
This species is highly variable. It can be easily confused with B. catharticus and B. stamineus.
and revegetation of damaged land, as well as a highly palatable forage for livestock; however, it has the capacity to become a noxious weed in agricultural settings.
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 names California brome and mountain brome.
It is native to western North America from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, where it can be found in many types of habitat. It is known in parts of the American midwest and eastern 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...
.
Description
Bromus carinatus is a perennial bunchgrass growing in clumps 0.5 to 1.5 meters tall, with many narrow leaves up to 40 centimeters long. The inflorescenceInflorescence
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 a spreading or drooping array of flat spikelets longer than they are wide.
The grass is wind-pollinated but is also sometimes cleistogamous
Cleistogamy
Cleistogamy or automatic self-pollination describes the trait of certain plants to propagate by using non-opening, self-pollinating flowers...
, so that the flowers pollinate themselves, especially under stressful conditions. It also reproduces vegetatively
Vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction in plants. It is a process by which new individuals arise without production of seeds or spores...
via tiller
Tiller (botany)
A tiller is a stem produced by grass plants, and refers to all shoots that grow after the initial parent shoot grows from a seed. Tillers are segmented, each segment possessing its own two-part leaf...
s.
This species is highly variable. It can be easily confused with B. catharticus and B. stamineus.
Uses
This grass is used for control of erosionErosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
and revegetation of damaged land, as well as a highly palatable forage for livestock; however, it has the capacity to become a noxious weed in agricultural settings.