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Bromus inermis

Common name:	Smooth Brome	Family:	Gramineae
Author:	Leyss.	Botanical references:
Synonyms:	Bromus tatewakii (Honda.), Bromus glabrescens (Honda.), Zerna inermis ((Leyss.)Lindm.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. Europe, eastwards to China.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Hungarian Brome [L], Smooth Brome [P,B,FEIS,L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	inermis = not spiny
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Renamed to Poaceae -- Grass family
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.2m. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Soil stabilization.

An excellent plant to grow for controlling soil erosion because of its fast-growing interlocking root system[269]. It is especially valuable in semi-arid regions, such as the Prairie Provinces of Canada and the Great Plains of the United States[269]. Growth starts early in spring with a further period of growth in early autumn under favourable moisture conditions[269].

Cultivation details

Best adapted to regions with moderate rainfall and moderate cool summer temperatures, it is suited to silt or clay soils and deep loams, but also does well on light sandy soils and on well-drained soils. Plants are less drought resistant than crested wheatgrass and they do not tolerate temperature extremes. Smooth brome is suited for irrigated areas but is not recommended for saline or alkali soils[269]. Smooth brome is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation of 32 to 176cm, an annual average temperature range of 4.3 to 19.9° C and a pH in the range of 4.9 to 8.2[269]. Smooth brome is also reported to tolerate alkali conditions, disease, drought, frost, fungi, grazing, mycobacterium, salt, viruses, and weeds[269]..
There are a number of named varieties, selected mainly as hay and pasture crops. These cultivars are divided into two groups, northern and southern. The southern group is less cold-hardy and does not survive average winter conditions further north than southern Minnesota in N. America, the northern group is much more cold tolerant[269].
The genus Bromus contains many complex, polyploid series. Bromus inermis belongs to section Bromopsis, containing wild species with chromosome numbers ranging from 2x to 8x. Following its introduction to North America, smooth broome, an aggressive species, has tended to replace native American species of sect. Bromopsis, especially B. pumpellianus. Hybridization studies have been made between: B. inermis, 8x B. pumpellianus, 8x and material of the introduced B. erectus complex (6x, 8x, 10x, though the last is probably itself hybrid). An objective of these studies was to incorporate into inermis the larger seeds of pumpellianus and better seedling vigour of erectus. The three species are related, crossable and give quite fertile hybrids. Collections of B. inermis in North America show varying meiotic irregularity and aneuploidy. This is probably a result of introgression from B. pumpellianus and the B. erectus complex. Quite a high degree of meiotic irregularity may be tolerated under natural conditions in a long lived, cross- pollinated species such as B. inermis, which can spread aggressively by rhizomes[269].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ. The seedbed should be firm and seed should not be covered to more than 6 - 13 mm depth. Seed rates of 3.3 kilos per hectare are used when the plant is sown in a pure stand, though it is more often sown in a mixture with various legumes such as alfalfa, sweet clover, red clover or Lotus corniculatus[269].
There are approximately 300,000 seeds per kilo[269].

Cultivars

'Wiley': Derived from Siberian introductions, it is adapted to conditions in Canada and the northern Plains of the United States. The plant bunches more than southern strains, does not become sod-bound so rapidly[269].
'Von Kanekes': A form developed in Germany for use in light soils[269].
'Parkland': Derived from Siberian introductions, it is adapted to conditions in Canada and the northern Plains of the United States. The plant bunches more than southern strains, does not become sod-bound so rapidly[269].
'N.F.G.': A form developed in Germany for use in moister, clayey soils[269].
'Martin': Derived from Siberian introductions, it is adapted to conditions in Canada and the northern Plains of the United States. The plant bunches more than southern strains, does not become sod-bound so rapidly[269].
'Mandon 404': Derived from Siberian introductions, it is adapted to conditions in Canada and the northern Plains of the United States. The plant bunches more than southern strains, does not become sod-bound so rapidly[269].
'Mancharl': Derived from Siberian introductions, it is adapted to conditions in Canada and the northern Plains of the United States. The plant bunches more than southern strains and does not become sod-bound so rapidly[269].
'Chapple No. 14': Derived from Siberian introductions, it is adapted to conditions in Canada and the northern Plains of the United States. The plant bunches more than southern strains, does not become sod-bound so rapidly[269].
'Canadian Certified': Derived from Siberian introductions, it is adapted to conditions in Canada and the northern Plains of the United States. The plant bunches more than southern strains, does not become sod-bound so rapidly[269].
'Prior': A form developed in Sweden for use in permanent pastures or long leys on dry soils[269].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[FAO] Data (Description, Habitat, Location and Use) from the FAO's Grassland Index.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HEC] Use, Folk Medicine, etc. from Handbook of Energy Crops by James Duke
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Bromus+inermis
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