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Descriptions

W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson

© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Bromus ramosus

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Culms erect; 45–180 cm long; 3–5 -noded. Leaf-sheaths hispid; with reflexed hairs. Leaf-sheath auricles falcate. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 3–6 mm long; lacerate. Leaf-blades drooping; 20–60 cm long; 6–16 mm wide; dark green. Leaf-blade surface scaberulous; glabrous, or pubescent; sparsely hairy.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle. Peduncle pubescent above; tipped by a glumaceous appendage.

Panicle open; oblong; effuse; nodding; 15–50 cm long. Primary panicle branches drooping; 2 -nate; bearing 1–9 fertile spikelets on each lower branch. Panicle branches flexuous; scaberulous.

Spikelets pendulous; solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels filiform; 6–30 mm long.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 4–11 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 20–45 mm long; 4–6 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; dissimilar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume linear; 6–9 mm long; 0.6–0.7 length of upper glume; chartaceous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acuminate. Upper glume lanceolate; 9–12 mm long; 0.7–0.9 length of adjacent fertile lemma; chartaceous; 1-keeled; 3–5 -veined. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Fertile lemma oblong; 10–15 mm long; chartaceous; much thinner on margins; without keel, or keeled; lightly keeled; 7 -veined. Lemma surface hirsute. Lemma apex entire; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn subapical; 4–11 mm long overall; limb scabrous. Palea 0.8 length of lemma. Palea keels scabrous. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Lodicules 2; membranous. Anthers 3; 3–4.5 mm long. Ovary with a fleshy appendage above style insertion; pubescent on apex.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; linear; hairy at apex; apex fleshy. Hilum linear; 1 length of caryopsis.

DISTRIBUTION Europe: northern, central, southwestern, southeastern, and eastern. Africa: north. Asia-temperate: Siberia, Soviet Middle Asia, Caucasus, western Asia, and China. Asia-tropical: India. North America: northwest USA.

NOTES Bromeae. Acedo 1996.

ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS Upper leaf-sheaths hairy; peduncle bract hairy.

Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.