Images
Click on image to view full size
Morphology
- Culm
- Erect, slender, solitary or tufted, glabrous.
- Blades
- Flat, 1/2 to 7 inches long, less than 1/4 inch wide, soft-hairy.
- Sheath
- Rough, flattened toward collar, soft-hairy.
- Ligule
- Membranous, jagged-toothed.
- Inflorescence
- Panicles, open, 2 to 8 inches long, much-branched, drooping, somewhat 1-sided, often purplish at maturity.
- Spikelets
- Slender-stalked, 4-8-flowered, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long; glumes unequal, soft-hairy; lemmas to 1/2 inch long, downy, awns 1/2 to 3/4 inch long.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Dry disturbed sites, roadsides, and waste areas.
- Distribution
- Throughout Kansas.
Practical Information
- Forage Value
- Downy brome offers fairly good forage value prior to inflorescence emergence but has practically no value after that time. Songbirds and turkeys consume the seeds.
Additional Notes
Comments
Tufted. An aggressive, cool season weed. The awns can injure the eyes and mouths of grazing livestock and contaminate fleece.
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Grass
- Family
- Poaceae - Grass Family
- Life Span
- Annual
- Height
- 8-24 inches
- Origin
- Introduced
- Last Updated
- 2023-10-06
Flowering Period
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Blooms: May, June, July