Japanese brome

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Japanese brome

Japanese brome

Japanese brome

Morphology

Culm

Erect or spreading, slender, bent at base; nodes swollen, brownish.

Blades

Flat, 3 to 8 inches long, .1 to .2 inch wide, usually densely hairy with conspicuous gray hairs, midrib prominent.

Sheath

Densely velvety pubescent.

Ligule

Membranous, tip erose.

Inflorescence

Panicle, open, 3 to 8 inches long, usually drooping to one side when mature; branches of different lengths, in whorls, spreading, often zigzag, each branch bearing 1-5 spikelets at tip.

Spikelets

Flattened, often hairy, .6 to 1 inch long, about .2 inch wide, 6 to 13 flowered; awn prominent, 1/4 to 3/4 inch long, often bent or twisted at maturity.

Ecology

Habitat

Found in dry or moist waste areas, disturbed sites, fields, or roadsides.

Distribution

Occurs throughout Kansas.

Reproduction

Reproduces by seeds.

Practical Information

Forage Value

Can provide good forage value when grazed early in the growing season.

Uses

Prairie chickens are known to consume the seeds.

Additional Notes