42 



MISC. PUBLICATION 200, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Figure 16. — Bromus laevipes, X 1. (Amer. Gr. Natl. Herb. 866, Calif.) 



18. Bromus vulgaris (Hook.) Shear 

 (Fig. 17.) Culms slender, 80 to 120 

 cm. tall, the nodes pubescent; sheaths 

 pilose; ligule 3 to 5 mm. long; blades 

 more or less pilose, to 12 mm. wide; 

 panicle 10 to 15 cm. long, the branches 

 slender, drooping; spikelets narrow, 

 about 2.5 cm. long; glumes narrow, 



Figure 17. — Bromus vulgaris, X 1. (Chase 4945, 

 Wash.) 



the first acute, 1-nerved, 5 to 8 mm. 

 long, the second broader, longer, ob- 

 tuse to acutish, 3-nerved; lemmas 8 

 to 10 mm. long, sparsely pubescent 



over the back, more densely near the 

 margin, or nearly glabrous; awn 6 

 to 8 mm. long. % — Rocky woods 

 and shady ravines, western Montana 

 and Wjroming to British Columbia 

 and California. Two scarcely distinct 

 robust varieties have been described: 

 B. vulgaris var. eximius Shear, a 

 form with glabrous sheaths and nearly 

 glabrous lemmas, Washington to 

 Mendocino County, Calif.; and B. 

 vulgaris var. robustus Shear, with 

 pilose sheaths and large panicle, 

 British Columbia to Oregon. 



19. Bromus ciliatus L. Fringed 

 brome. (Fig. 18.) Culms slender, 70 

 to 120 cm. tall, glabrous or pubescent 

 at the nodes; sheaths glabrous or the 

 lower short-pilose, mostly shorter 

 than the internodes; blades rather 

 lax, as much as 1 cm. wide, sparsely 

 pilose on both surfaces to glabrous; 

 panicle 15 to 25 cm. long, open, the 

 branches slender, drooping, as much 

 as 15 cm. long; first glume 1-nerved, 

 the second 3-nerved; lemmas 10 to 

 12 mm. long, pubescent near the 

 margin on the lower half to three- 

 fourths, glabrous or nearly so on the 

 back; awn 3 to 5 mm. long. % — 

 Moist woods and rocky slopes, New- 

 foundland to Washington, south to 

 New Jersey, Tennessee, Iowa, west- 

 ern Texas, and southern California 

 (San Bernardino Mountains) ; Mexi- 

 co. B. richardsoni Link is a form that 

 has been distinguished by its larger 

 spikelets and lemmas and more robust 

 habit, but it grades freely into B. 



