Bromus secalinus
Encyclopedia
Bromus secalinus is a species of bromegrass
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 as rye brome.
This grass is native to Eurasia but is well-known in many other parts of the world where it has been introduced
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 a noxious weed throughout much of North America. This is an annual grass reaching maximum heights of one half to one meter. The small leaves are thinly covered in soft hairs. The spreading 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...
may reach nearly 20 centimeters long and nods when it becomes heavy with grain. The fruits are hard, rounded glumes that look superficially similar to the rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
grain, which gives the brome its common name.