HOW TO KNOW THE GRASSES 



88b. Mature spikelets 5 — 8 mm. wide; lower sheaths covered with 

 straight spreading stiii hairs. Fig. 123. 



Bromus commufafus Schrad. 



Annual; tufted; plants usually 30 — 100 

 cm. tall, freely branching from the base; 

 foliage hairy; panicles open, pyramidal, 

 usually 5 — 15 cm. long. In plants grow- 

 ing on sterile dry soil, the inflorescence 

 may be reduced to a raceme of a few 

 spikelets. Such plants closely resemble 

 B. racemosus (Fig. 127). This species is 

 closely related to B. secalinus, from which 

 it differs in the greater hairiness of the 

 foliage and more overlapping florets. Along 

 with B. japonicus and B. secalinus, this spe- 

 cies is a widespread weed of fields and 

 waste places. It is particularly common 

 in the eastern and far western states, but 

 apparently somewhat rare in the Middle 

 West. Introduced from Europe. June — July. 



Figure 123 



89a. Leaf blades 2 — 4 mm. wide, sparsely hairy; from North Dakota 

 to western Texas and westward. Fig. 124. 



Bromus anomaius Rupr. 



Perennial; tufted; culms slender, 30 — 60 cm. tall- 

 nodes hairy; sheaths somewhat hairy or glabrous; 

 panicles small, drooping, usually 10 cm. long or 

 shorter; spikelets few, drooping, densely hairy; first 

 glume with 3 nerves, the second with 5; lemmas 

 about 12 mm. long, the awns 2 — 4 mm. long. 

 Bromus anomaius is widespread and common in 

 the Rocky Mountain region, where it is regarded 

 as a very valuable forage grass for all kinds of 

 domestic Uvestock and for wild grazing animals. 

 It grows in aspen, spruce, and pine forests and on 

 open ground in meadows and parks, at elevations 

 up to 3000 m. July — September. 



Var. lanitipes (Shear) Hitch, has woolly sheaths. 



Figure 124 



65 



