''Bromus erectus'', commonly known as erect brome, upright brome or meadow brome, is a dense, course, tufted

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

grass. It can grow to . Like many brome grasses the plant is hairy. The specific epithet ''erectus'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, meaning "erect". The

diploid number Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respective ...

of the grass is 56.

Description

''Bromus erectus'' is a perennial, tufted grass with basal tufts of

cespitose This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

leaves that is nonrhizomatous. The culms grow between in height. The internodes are typically glabrous. The flattened

cauline A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

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

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet that ...

s are long and have five to twelve flowers. The

glume In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grasses (Poaceae) or the flowers of sedges (Cyperaceae). There are two other types of bracts in the spikelets of grasses: the lemma and ...

s 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.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q161311 erectus Plants described in 1762 Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of Western Asia Taxa named by William Hudson (botanist)