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

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

grass. It can grow to . Like many brome grasses the plant is hairy. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''erectus'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, 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 A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...

leaves have pubescent or glabrous sheaths. The leaf blades are long and wide. The grass lacks auricles and the

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above g ...

is blunt but finely serrated, sometimes with hairy edges. The contracted and ellipsoid

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

is usually upright, rather than nodding, measuring long. The lanceolate

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the inflorescences 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 sp ...

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 grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flow ...

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

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are long. ''B. erectus'' flowers in June and July.

Identification

Upright brome can be identified by the "camel's eyelashes", or long hairs, along the edges of the leaves. Bromus erectus eyelashes

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) Grasses of Lebanon