Great Brome -introduced (*Bromus diandrus)

Native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. Annual. C3.

Family. Poaceae (Grass family).

Other names: Jabbers, Ripgut Brome.

Identification:

• it is a tall grass to about a metre
• the flower cluster is open and loose
• the glumes are shorter than the lemma bodies
• the spikelets usually have 6-8 lemmas
• the lemmas have long awns
• the leaves are flat
• the ligule is to 4mm, bcoming torn
• the flower stalks are slender, and the flowers tend to hang downwards
• the lemmas are rounded on the back
• the first glume has only one vein
• as in other bromes, the leaf-sheaths are fused to form a cylinder

Great Brome is a very common weed, usually growing with other weeds in disturbed places. It is an environmental weed. The long awns give the grass a distinctive appearance; the awns are about twice as long as the rest of the spiklets.

Bromus: a kind of oat; diandrus: with two stamens.

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