• You are here:
• Dichotomous Key
• Poaceae
• Poaceae Group 4
• Bromus
• Bromus lepidus

Bromus lepidus — slender soft brome

Facts

Slender soft brome is native to Europe and a rare visitor to North America, having been recorded only from New York and Massachusetts.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther length

  0.5–2 mm

  Anther number

  2–3

  Awn on glume

  the glume has no awn

  Bristles below spikelets

  no

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is thin and flexible

  Floret number

  5–12

  Floret types within spikelet

  all the florets within a spikelet are similar

  Glume awn length

  0 mm

  Glume relative length

  neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets

  Glume veins

  • 3
  • 5
  • 7 or more

  Glumes per spikelet

  2

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  • the inflorescence axis is arched or curved outward
  • the inflorescence axis is straight

  Inflorescence branch length

  Up to 4 cm

  Inflorescence branches

  the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence

  Inflorescence crowding

  • the panicle is somewhat to very congested (crowded), and the branches may not be clearly seen without close inspection
  • the panicle is somewhat to very spread out, with clearly-evident branches

  Inflorescence length

  20–100 mm

  Inflorescence length to width ratio

  1.3–3.3

  Inflorescence type (general)

  the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes

  Inflorescence width

  15–30 mm

  Inforescence position

  the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem

  Lemma awn base

  the awn is attached right at the tip of the lemma

  Lemma awn coiled

  the lemma awn is straight or twisted, but not coiled one half turn

  Lemma awn length

  2–6 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has one awn on it

  Lemma awn orientation

  the awn of the lemma is straight

  Lemma base hair length

  0 mm

  Lemma base hairs

  the lemma is hairless or feels just a tiny bit rough at the base

  Lemma cross-section

  the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint

  Lemma keel hairs

  NA

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)

  Lemma tip

  the lemma tip is split into two or more points

  Lemma tip shape

  the lemma tip tapers to a narrow point (it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip)

  Lemma vein number

  7 or more

  Lemma vein orientation

  the veins on the lemma come together near the tip

  Lower glume length

  4–4.6 mm

  One or more florets

  there is more than one floret per spikelet

  Palea relative length

  palea is one half to fully as long as lemma

  Reproductive system

  all the flowers on the plant have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)

  Spikelet axis tip

  there is an extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet disintegration

  the spikelet breaks off above the glumes, so that after the florets fall off, the glumes remain

  Spikelet length

  6–15 mm

  Spikelet number per node

  Up to 0

  Spikelet pedicel

  the spikelets have pedicels

  Spikelet shape

  the spikelets are lanceolate (lance-shaped, widest below the middle and tapering narrowly to the ends) in profile

  Spikelet width

  2–4 mm

  Spikelets per panicle branch

  1–3

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Tip of glume

  the tip of the glume is not divided (though it may have an awn on it)

  Upper glume length

  5.2–5.4 mm

  Upper glume shape

  the upper glume is widest at or below the middle

• Fruits or seeds

  Groove on seed

  the caryopsis has a groove running most of its length

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  • the plant lives more than two years
  • the plant lives only a single year or less

• Leaves

  Basal leaves

  • the plant has few or no leaves coming from the base of the flowering stem
  • the plant has large or prominent tufts of leaves at the base of the flowering stem

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section, or slightly folded or rolled inwards

  Leaf blade hairs

  the leaf blade is hairy

  Leaf blade length

  3–13 cm

  Leaf blade width

  2–4 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  0.5–1 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane

  Leaf margin glands

  there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade

  Leaf sheath closed around stem

  the margins of the leaf sheath are fused together and form a closed tube except (possibly) at the very top

  Leaf sheath hair type

  there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath, but the hairs do not have blisters at their bases

  Leaf sheath hairs

  • there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
  • there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

  Orientation of topmost leaf

  the flag leaf is held upright, or at less than a 45 degree angle out from the stem

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  Massachusetts

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Plant height

  5–60 cm

  Stem node number

  2–6

  Stem orientation

  the stems are upright

  Stem spacing

  • the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts
  • the stems grow singly or a few together (they may form diffuse colonies)

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae