Ontario Weeds: Downy brome

Table of Contents

1. Name
2. Other Names
3. Family
4. General Description
   • Photos and Pictures
5. Stems and Roots
6. Flowers and Fruit
7. Habitat
8. Similar Species
9. Related Links

Name: Downy brome, Bromus tectorum L.,

Other Names: brome des toits, Cheat, Cheat grass, Cheat grass brome, Downy chess, Slender chess

Family: Grass Family (Gramineae)

General Description: Annual or winter annual, reproducing only by seed.

Photos and Pictures

Downy brome.

Downy brome. A. Plants. B. Leaf-bse. C. Spiket with 2 developed florets.

Stems & Roots: Stems 20-60cm (8-24in.) tall and slender, but may be only 5cm (2in.) in dry gravelly situations; stems, leaves and leaf sheaths densely and softly hairy; leaf sheaths of lower leaves closed (margins united) nearly to the top, middle and upper leaf sheaths progressively more split with margins separate or overlapping; ligule membranous, 3mm (1/8in.) long, its margin frequently lacerated or irregularly torn; no auricles; panicle 7-20cm (3-8in. ) long with many soft, slender, drooping to partly erect branches; spikelets, including awns 2-4cm (4/5-1-3/5in.) long, and having 2 to 7 florets ("seeds").

Flowers & Fruit: Young plants are bright green but stems, leaves and inflorescence often turn pinkish to purplish-brown with age. On mature and dry plants, the awns become quite stiff and spreading, and the hairy leaves rather harsh. Flowers from May to July.

Habitat: Downy brome occurs throughout southern Ontario, especially on sandy or gravelly soils, in poor pastures, roadsides, embankments, beaches and waste places.

Similar Species: It is distinguished from Smooth brome, Chess and Upright brome by its hairy texture and its thin, long-awned spikelets.

Related Links

... on general Weed topics
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control

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