MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



33 



its more eastern form, B. marginatus, are abundant from the Rocky- 

 Mountains to the Pacific coast. Before maturity, they are relished 

 by all classes of stock. Horses and sheep are particularly fond of the 

 seed heads. Bromus anomalus, B. pumpellianus, and B. ciliatus, of 

 the Rocky Mountain region, are abundant up to 10,000-11,000 feet 

 altitude, and are of first rank for all classes of stock. Several other 

 species are nutritious but are usually not abundant enough to be of 

 importance in the grazing regions. The most important species 

 agronomically is smooth brome, B. inermis, a native of Europe, which 

 is cultivated for hay and pasture in the northern part of the Great 

 Plains. (See p. 39.) It is more drought-resistant than timothy and 

 can be grown farther west on the plains, but does not thrive south of 

 central Kansas. It is recommended for holding canal banks. Also 

 called smooth, awnless, and Hungarian brome. Rescue grass, B. 

 catharticus, is cultivated for winter forage in the Southern States from 

 North Carolina to Texas and in the coast district of southern California. 

 The annuals are weedy species introduced mostly from Europe. 

 The best known of these is chess, Bromus secalinus, a weed of waste 

 places sometimes infesting grain fields. Formerly it was believed 

 by the credulous that under certain conditions wheat changed into 

 chess or "cheat." Chess in a wheat field is due to chess seed in the 

 soil or in the wheat sown. This species is uti- 

 lized for hay in places in Washington, Oregon, 

 and Georgia. On the Pacific coast the annual 

 bromegrasses cover vast areas of open ground at 

 lower altitudes where they form a large part 

 of the forage on the winter range. They 

 mature in spring or early summer and become 

 unpalatable. Those of the section Eubromus 

 are, at maturity, a serious pest. The narrow, 

 sharp-pointed minutely barbed florets (or fruits) with their long 

 rough awns work into the eyes, nostrils, and mouths of stock, causing 

 inflammation and often serious injury. Sometimes the intestines are 

 pierced, and death results. On the Pacific coast, B. rigidus, the 

 chief offender, is called ripgut grass by stockmen, and the name is 

 sometimes applied to other species of the section. 



Spikelets strongly flattened, the lemmas compressed-keeled. 



Section 1. Ceratochloa. 

 Spikelets terete before anthesis or somewhat flattened, but the lemmas not com- 

 pressed-keeled. 



Plants perennial Section 2. Bromopsis. 



Plants annual. Introduced, mostly from Europe. 



Awn straight or divaricate, sometimes minute or obsolete, not twisted and 

 geniculate; teeth of the lemma sometimes slender but not aristate. 

 Lemmas broad, rounded above, not acuminate, the teeth mostly less than 



1 mm long Section 3. Bromium. 



Lemmas narrow, with a sharp callus, gradually acuminate, bifid, the teeth 



2 to 5 mm long. Awns usually more than 1.5 cm long. 



Section 4. Eubromus. 



Awn geniculate, twisted below; teeth of the lemma aristate. Approaches 



Trisetum Section 5. Neobromus. 



Section 1. Ceratochloa 



Lemmas awnless or nearly so 1. B. catharticus. 



Lemmas awned, the awn more than 3 mm long. 



Panicle branches elongate, slender, drooping, bearing 1 or 2 large spikelets at 



the end, the lowermost naked for as much as 10 to 15 cm. Sheaths smooth; 



Washington 2. B. sitchensis. 



Figure 4.— Distribution of 

 Arundinaria tecta. 



