Scientific Name
Bromus rubens L. (Synonyms: Anisantha rubens; Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens)
Common Name(s)
Red brome
Tribe / Family Name
Bromeae
Flowering Period
February to June
Symbol
BRRU2
Description
Red brome is an introduced, annual, bunchgrass. Culms range from 10-40 cm in height. Inflorescences are erect, dense panicles 2-10 cm long, up to 5 cm wide, and often reddish-brown. Spikelets are 4- to 8-flowered, densely crowded, and awned (awns 8-20 mm long, straight, and attached just below the lemma tips). Ligules are 1-3(4) mm long, membranous, and lacerate at the tips. Blades are 1-5 mm wide.
General Info
Red brome can be found along roadsides and trails, in waste areas, agricultural fields, disturbed soils, and rangelands.
Similar Species
Red brome can look similar to other brome species, such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) at maturity and ripgut brome (Bromus diandrus) during early growth stages.
Similar Species Links
Cheatgrass, downy brome, downy bromegrass, downy chess, early chess Ripgut bromePicture of growth habit. Photo by Justin J. Trujillo.
Inflorescence is an erect, dense panicle. Photo by Justin J. Trujillo.
Inflorescence is an erect, dense panicle. Photo by Justin J. Trujillo.
Close-up picture of spikelet. Photo by Justin J. Trujillo.
Close-up picture of membranous ligule. Photo by Justin J. Trujillo.
Illustration of red brome. USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. <i>Manual of the grasses of the United States</i>. USDA Miscellaneous Publication No. 200. Washington, DC.
Distribution map of red brome. USDA PLANTS Database, 2022.