Bromus hordeaceus
Encyclopedia
Bromus hordeaceus, the Soft Brome, is an annual
or biennial
species
of plant
in the true grass family
(Poaceae
). It is also known in North America as Bull Grass, Soft Cheat or Soft Chess.
It is the most common species of Bromus
in Britain, found roadsides, waste ground, meadows, cultivated land. It is found throughout Europe, West Asia, and was introduced into North and South America and Australia.
Its Latin name in the book Grasses by C E Hubbard, 1978, published by Penguin books is Bromus mollis. This describes the grass as belonging to a group of closely related species, amongst these Hard Brome, Bromus thominii, the author queries if this is the Bromus hordeaceus species.
It can grow between 10 and 100 cm high, sometimes in tufts, sometimes singly. The culms have between 2 and 5 nodes. The leaves are grey-green. The ligule
s are 2.5mm high, flat but toothed.
The panicle
s are up to 16 cm long, grey green to purple. The spikelets have awn
s. If flowers from May until July.
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
or biennial
Biennial plant
A biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. In the first year the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots , then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. Usually the stem remains very short and the leaves are low to the ground, forming...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
in the true grass family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(Poaceae
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
). It is also known in North America as Bull Grass, Soft Cheat or Soft Chess.
It is the most common species of Bromus
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...
in Britain, found roadsides, waste ground, meadows, cultivated land. It is found throughout Europe, West Asia, and was introduced into North and South America and Australia.
Its Latin name in the book Grasses by C E Hubbard, 1978, published by Penguin books is Bromus mollis. This describes the grass as belonging to a group of closely related species, amongst these Hard Brome, Bromus thominii, the author queries if this is the Bromus hordeaceus species.
Description
The plant is hairy all over.It can grow between 10 and 100 cm high, sometimes in tufts, sometimes singly. The culms have between 2 and 5 nodes. The leaves are grey-green. The ligule
Ligule
A ligule — is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf and leafstalk of many grasses and sedges or a strap-shaped corolla, such as that of a ray floret in plants in the daisy family....
s are 2.5mm high, flat but toothed.
The panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s are up to 16 cm long, grey green to purple. The spikelets have awn
Awn
In botany, an awn is either a hair- or bristle-like appendage on a larger structure, or in the case of the Asteraceae, a stiff needle-like element of the pappus....
s. If flowers from May until July.
Subspecies
- Bromus hordeaceus ssp. ferronii – Least Soft Brome
- Bromus hordeaceus ssp. hordeaceus
- Bromus hordeaceus ssp. molliformis
- Bromus hordeaceus ssp. pseudothominii
- Bromus hordeaceus ssp. thominei – Lesser Soft Brome