E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Bromus sterilis L.
barren brome; poverty brome
Poaceae (Grass Family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Hans Roemer  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #22952)


Distribution of Bromus sterilis
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Species Information

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Illustration SourceThe Illustrated Flora of BC

General:
Annual grass from fibrous roots; stems (40) 50-100 cm tall, smooth, erect or abruptly bent near the base.
Leaves:
Sheaths soft-hairy; blades 2-3 (4) mm wide, flat, smooth to soft-hairy on the dorsal surfaces at least, thin, the nerves very narrow, scarcely 1/3 as broad as the intervening areas; ear-shaped lobes lacking at the leaf-bases; ligules jagged, 2-3 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an open panicle, (10) 15-20 cm long, the lower branches usually drooping, mostly bearing only 1 or 2 spikelets; spikelets closely (6-) 7- to 9-flowered, broadest above the midlength, smooth to appressed short-hairy, 2.5-3.5 cm long; glumes slender, the lower ones 1-nerved, 6-14 mm long, the upper ones 3-nerved, 10-20 mm long; lemmas narrowly lanceolate, long-pointed, keeled, (16) 18-20 mm long, bidentate, the teeth very slender, 2-2.5 mm long, awned, the awns 15-30 mm long; anthers 1-1.5 mm long.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Bromus sterilis

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2008)

Site Information
Value / Class

Average

Minimum

Maximum

Elevation (metres)
338 122 740
Slope Gradient (%)
43.0 4 90

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

197.8 63 280
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2.0 1 5
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
Medium
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
16
Modal BEC Zone Class
CDF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

CDF(12), CWH(2), IDF(1)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the:  "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Habitat / Range

Dry to mesic roadsides, waste places, meadows, rock outcrops and rocky forest openings in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common on S Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands, infrequent in SC and SE BC; introduced from Eurasia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of BC

Synonyms and Alternative Names

Anisantha sterilis (L.) Nevski

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

Related Databases

General References