Bromus hordeaceus L. (Synonyms: Soft chess; Bromus mollis)
Soft brome
Bromeae
May to July
BRHO2
Soft brome is an introduced cool-season annual (sometimes biennial) bunchgrass that reproduces from seeds. Culms range from 2–70 cm in height. Its inflorescence is an erect, narrow panicle or occasionally a raceme that is 1–13 cm long with crowded spikelets. Spikelets are usually 14–20 mm long, lanceolate, soft-pubescent to glabrous, cylindrical and moderately laterally compressed, and 5- to 10-flowered. Glumes are broad, obtuse, pilose or glabrous, and subequal (lower glumes 5–7 mm long, 3- to 5-nerved; upper glumes 6.5–8 mm long, 5- to 7-nerved). Lemmas are usually 7–9 mm long, lanceolate, pilose or scabrous, slightly compressed, hyaline along the margins, prominently 7- to 9-nerved, bifid at the tips, and awned (awns 6–8 mm long, straight to recurved at maturity, and originating below the lemma tips). Sheaths are usually closed nearly to the top and soft-pubescent. Auricles are absent. Ligules are up to 1.5 mm long, membranous, obtuse to truncate, erose, glabrous or usually hairy. Blades are 2–19 cm long, up to 4 mm wide, flat, occasionally involute, hairy above, and glabrous or hairy below.
Soft brome is normally found in sagebrush, meadows, pastures, foothills, low valleys, and disturbed areas including transportation corridors, irrigation ditches, cultivated fields, sandy beaches, and waste land.
Soft brome may look similar to Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus). However, the inflorescence of soft brome is more erect and does not appear to be nodding or drooping over like Japanese brome. Also, soft brome has small, hairy spikelets with straight awns, but become recurved at maturity, while Japanese brome has large, smooth or scabrous spikelets with awns that become twisted and geniculate at maturity. Other similar species include cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and rattlesnake brome (Bromus briziformis), which also have inflorescences that appear to be nodding or drooping over. However, cheatgrass has long, straight awns, and rattlesnake brome is awnless or short awned.