False Brome
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| False Brome | ||||||||||||||||
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| Brachypodium sylvaticum (Huds.) Beauv. |
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Bromus sylvaticus (Huds.) Pollich |
False Brome, Slender False Brome or Wood False Brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum) is a grass native to Europe, Asia and north Africa.
A tall tufted perennial grass growing up to about a 0.9 m high, it is most commonly found in forests and woodlands, but may grow in open areas. It has drooping narrow spikelets of flowers on very short pedicels and drooping leaves. Its awns are straight and 6 to 18 mm long. The leaf blade of the plant is dark green, flat and up to 12 mm wide with a fringe of hairs surrounding the edge of the leaf. The leaves do not have auricles. The leaf blade is joined to the hollow culm by the leaf sheath. This hairy sheath is open and surrounds the culm. The culm is pilose (long, soft, hairy).
Its seeds can be dispersed by wildlife and humans. It has been introduced to North America and is considered a noxious weed in Oregon, USA. The caterpillars of some Lepidoptera use it as a foodplant, e.g. the Chequered Skipper (Carterocephalus palaemon) and the Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola).
[edit] References and external links
- Flora of Northern Ireland: Brachypodium sylvaticum.
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Brachypodium sylvaticum
- USDA Plants Profile: Brachypodium sylvaticum.
- Johnson J, Identifying Brachypodium sylvaticum (slender false brome), San Francisco Watershed Council, January 2004.
- False-brome page from the Alaska Natural Heritage Program.
- Brachypodium.org
- The International Brachypodium Initiative
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