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

Briza minor L.
small quaking grass (little quakinggrass)
Poaceae (Grass family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants
Once images have been obtained, photographs of this species will be displayed in this window.Click on the image to enter our photo gallery.
Currently no image is available for this taxon.
E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Briza minor
Click here to view our interactive map and legend
Details about map content are available here
Click on the map dots to view record details.

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.



General:
Annual grass from fibrous roots; stems hollow, erect, (5) 10-60 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths open, smooth; blades flat, 2-8 mm wide, the margins freed from the sheaths at different levels; ligules membranous, 3-6 mm long, higher in the centres opposite the throats, but the free membranes only 1-4 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an open, pyramidal panicle 5-15 cm long, much branched, lax, the lower branches 1 or 2 together, spreading; spikelets usually more than 12, broadly triangular, 2-5 mm long, (3-) 4- to 6-flowered, compressed, usually pale green, articulating above the glumes, the slender stalks usually longer than the spikelets; glumes 2-3.5 mm long, concave, hood-shaped, 3- to 5-nerved, more or less leathery, at right angles to the rachillas; lemmas 1.5-2 mm long, awnless, obscurely nerved, egg-shaped, blunt, heart-shaped at the base, pimpled on the back; paleas somewhat shorter than the lemmas; lodicules 2, thin, membranous, about 0.7 mm long; ovaries smooth; anthers scarcely 1 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry disturbed sites and waste areas in the lowland zone; rare in SW BC; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References