Bromus erectus


Bromus erectus, commonly known as erect brome, upright brome or meadow brome, is a dense, course, tufted perennial grass. It can grow to. Like many brome grasses the plant is hairy. The specific epithet erectus is Latin, meaning "erect". The diploid number of the grass is 56.

Description

Bromus erectus is a perennial, tufted grass with basal tufts of cespitose leaves that is nonrhizomatous. The culms grow between in height. The internodes are typically glabrous. The flattened cauline leaves have pubescent or glabrous sheaths. The leaf blades are long and wide. The grass lacks auricles and the ligule is blunt but finely serrated, sometimes with hairy edges. The contracted and ellipsoid panicle is usually upright, rather than nodding, measuring long. The lanceolate spikelets are long and have five to twelve flowers. The glumes are acute, with the lower glumes one-nerved and long, and the upper glumes three-nerved and long. The glabrous or slightly scabrous lemmas are prominently nerved and long, with awns long. The anthers are long. B. erectus flowers in June and July.

Range

Found on well-drained calcerous soils in disturbed areas, fields, and roadsides, B. erectus is widespread in Europe, South West Asia, North West Africa, and has been introduced into North America.