- You are here:
- Full Key
- Grass-like plants
- True grasses
- Bromus squarrosus
Bromus squarrosus — corn brome
Copyright: various copyright holders. To reuse an image, please click it to see who you will need to contact.
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
Facts
Corn brome is native to Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. It is present across much of northern and northwestern North America, but is a rare visitor to New England, having been collected only in Connecticut and Vermont.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Vermont
- Leaf blade width
- 4–6 mm
- Inflorescence branches
- the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
- Spikelet length
- 15–70 mm
- Glume relative length
- neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets
- Awn on glume
- the glume has no awn
- One or more florets
- there is more than one floret per spikelet
- Lemma awn length
- 8–10 mm
- Leaf sheath hair type
- there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath, but the hairs do not have blisters at their bases
- Leaf ligule length
- 1–1.5 mm
- Anther length
- 1–1.3 mm
-
Flowers
- Anther length
- 1–1.3 mm
- Anther number
- 2–3
- Awn on glume
- the glume has no awn
- Bristles below spikelets
- no
- Floret lower bract texture
- the lemma is thin and flexible
- Floret number
- 8–30
- Floret types within spikelet
- all the florets within a spikelet are similar
- Glume awn length
- 0 mm
- Glume relative length
- neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets
- Glume veins
-
- 3
- 5
- 7 or more
- Glumes per spikelet
- 2
- Inflorescence arrangement
- the spikelets are uniform
- Inflorescence axis orientation
- the inflorescence axis bends downwards or hangs
- Inflorescence branches
- the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
- Inflorescence crowding
- the panicle is somewhat to very spread out, with clearly-evident branches
- Inflorescence length
- 70–200 mm
- Inflorescence length to width ratio
- 1.8–2.5
- Inflorescence type (general)
- the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches
- Inflorescence type (specific)
- the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes
- Inflorescence width
- 40–80 mm
- Inforescence position
- the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem
- Lemma awn base
- the awn is attached at the upper half of the lemma
- Lemma awn coiled
-
- the lemma awn is coiled at least one half turn
- the lemma awn is straight or twisted, but not coiled one half turn
- Lemma awn length
- 8–10 mm
- Lemma awn number
- the lemma has one awn on it
- Lemma awn orientation
- the awn of the lemma on dried or older plants is curved or bent outwards
- Lemma base hair length
- 0 mm
- Lemma base hairs
- the lemma is hairless or feels just a tiny bit rough at the base
- Lemma cross-section
- the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint
- Lemma hairs
-
- the lemma has fine hairs between the veins
- the lemma is hairless between the veins
- Lemma keel hairs
- NA
- Lemma marginal vein hairs
-
- the marginal vein of the lemma has fine hairs on it
- the marginal vein of the lemma is hairless
- Lemma surface
- the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)
- Lemma tip
- the lemma tip is split into two or more points
- Lemma vein number
- 7 or more
- Lemma vein orientation
- the veins on the lemma come together near the tip
- Lower glume length
- 4.5–7 mm
- One or more florets
- there is more than one floret per spikelet
- Palea relative length
- palea is one half to fully as long as lemma
- Reproductive system
- all the flowers on the plant have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)
- Spikelet axis tip
- there is an extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet
- Spikelet disintegration
- the spikelet breaks off above the glumes, so that after the florets fall off, the glumes remain
- Spikelet length
- 15–70 mm
- Spikelet number per node
- Up to 0
- Spikelet pedicel
- the spikelets have pedicels
- Spikelet shape
-
- the spikelets are lanceolate (lance-shaped, widest below the middle and tapering narrowly to the ends) in profile
- the spikelets are oblong (rectangular, but with rounded ends) in profile
- the spikelets are ovate (egg-shaped, widest below the middle with rounded ends) in profile
- Spikelet width
- 5–15 mm
- Spikelets per panicle branch
- 1–2
- Spikelets spiny
- the spikelets do not appear spiny
- Tip of glume
-
- the tip of the glume is divided into two or more points
- the tip of the glume is not divided (though it may have an awn on it)
- Upper glume length
- 6–8 mm
- Upper glume shape
- the upper glume is widest at or below the middle
-
Fruits or seeds
- Groove on seed
- the caryopsis has a groove running most of its length
-
Growth form
- Lifespan
- the plant lives only a single year or less
- Rhizomes
- no
- Roots
- there are only slender roots on the plant
-
Leaves
- Leaf blade cross-section
- the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section, or slightly folded or rolled inwards
- Leaf blade hairs
- the leaf blade is hairy
- Leaf blade length
- 5–15 cm
- Leaf blade width
- 4–6 mm
- Leaf ligule length
- 1–1.5 mm
- Leaf ligule type
- the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane
- Leaf margin glands
- there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade
- Leaf sheath closed around stem
- the margins of the leaf sheath are fused together and form a closed tube except (possibly) at the very top
- Leaf sheath hair type
- there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath, but the hairs do not have blisters at their bases
- Leaf sheath hairs
- there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
- Orientation of topmost leaf
- the flag leaf is held upright, or at less than a 45 degree angle out from the stem
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- meadows or fields
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Hairs at nodes
- the stem nodes are hairless or they have very sparse hairs
- Plant height
- 20–60 cm
- Stem hairs
- the stem is nearly to completely hairless
- Stem node number
- 3–5
- Stem orientation
-
- the stems are upright
- the stems trail at the base, but turn upwards at the tips
Wetland status
Not classified
New England distribution and conservation status
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- absent
- Massachusetts
- absent
- New Hampshire
- absent
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
None
Native to North America?
No
Sometimes confused with
- Bromus japonicus:
- panicle not secund, with branched lower branches, spikelets with 6-12 florets, and lemmas 1.2-2.2 mm deep in side view (vs. B. squarrosus, with the panicle often somewhat secund, with simple branches, spikelets with 8-30 florets, and lemmas 2.5-3.5 mm deep in side view).
Family
Genus
From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae
18. Bromus squarrosus L. E
corn brome. CT, VT. Fields, roadsides, disturbed soil.