Smooth Brome

Order: Cyperales

Family: Poaceae

Genus: Bromus

Species: B. inermis

Identifying Characteristics

-An erect, leafy, long-lived perennial, 1 ½ to 3 feet tall, rhizomatous and commonly producing a dense sod

- Seedhead: Compact to somewhat open panicle, 4 to 8 inches long; panicle branches in whorls; spikelets ¾ to 1 inch long, slender, turn brownish at maturity, contain 5 to 10 florets; lemmas awnless to awn-tipped, glabrous and split near the tip, into a bifid apex.

- Leaves: Glabrous or occasionally pubescent, particularly on the sheaths; blades 8 to 15 inches long, ¼ to ½ inch wide, flat, with a raised and keeled midrib below; sheaths closed, except near collar, and papery when dry; leaves rolled in the bud; ligules up to 1/8 inch long, rounded, and membranous; auricles absent.

Special Adaptations:

-Smooth brome was introduced from Europe and has been used in range seedings in many areas of the country. Smooth brome is a good forage producer on the mountain loam sites, and it is also adapted to the upland sites. In the lower rainfall areas, some irrigation is required for optimum production

- comes on fairly early in the spring, but is not as early as intermediate wheatgrass with which it compares very closely in its adaptations.

-Due to it's aggressiveness, the species can be considered weedy. It is not tolerant of prolonged flooding

-Soils: It is best adapted to fertile, loamy, deep soils including stony loams where there is at least 16 inches of rainfall annually, or supplemental irrigation equivalent to that. Smooth brome is mildly alkaline and moderately salt tolerant.

-It starts growth in early spring; flowers May to July; reproduces from seeds, tillers, and rhizomes. It may regrow and reflower in the fall if moisture is sufficient