''Bromus aleutensis'', commonly known as the Aleutian brome, is a perennial grass found in North America. ''B. aleutensis'' has a diploid number of 56.

Taxonomy

It has been suggested that ''Bromus aleutensis'' may be a modified version of the similar '' Bromus sitchensis'' in which reproduction occurs at an earlier developmental state as a response to the climate of the Aleutian Islands. In addition, while ''B. aleutensis'' is mostly self-fertilizing and ''B. sitchensis'' is mostly outcrossing,

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

lengths close to in some individuals of ''B. aleutensis'' suggests outcrossing.

Description

''B aleutensis'' is a perennial grass that is loosely cespitose. The decumbent culms are tall and thick. The striate and pilose leaf sheaths have dense hairs. Auricles are rarely present. The glabrous

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf and leafstalk of many grasses (Poaceae) and sedges. A ligule is also a strap-shaped extension of the corolla, such as that of a ...

s are long. The somewhat pilose leaf blades are long and wide. The open

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s are long. Lower branches of the inflorescence are long and number one to two per node, with two to three

spikelets A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet that ...

on their distal half. The elliptic to lanceolate spikelets are long, with three to six florets. The

glume In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grasses (Poaceae) or the flowers of sedges (Cyperaceae). There are two other types of bracts in the spikelets of grasses: the lemma and ...

s are glabrous or pubescent, with the three- to five-veined lower glumes being and the seven- to nine-veined upper glumes being . The lanceolate

lemma Lemma may refer to: Language and linguistics * Lemma (morphology), the canonical, dictionary or citation form of a word * Lemma (psycholinguistics), a mental abstraction of a word about to be uttered Science and mathematics * Lemma (botany), a ...

s are and are laterally compressed and softly pubescent. The lemmas have nine to eleven veins, with the veins being especially conspicuous distally. The

awn AWN may stand for: * Awn Access to Justice Network in Gaza Strip, Legal Aid Network operate in Gaza Strip, Palestine * Animation World Network, an online organization for animators * Avant Window Navigator, a dock-like bar that tracks open windows ...

s are and the anthers are .

Habitat and distribution

''Bromus aleutensis'' grows in sand, gravel, and disturbed soil in the Pacific coast, particularly from the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

(as its specific epithet indicates) to western Washington, though it has been found farther east in lake shores or road edges of Canada and Idaho.

Ecology

''Bromus aleutensis'' is infected by ''Fusarium nivale'' and ''Hendersonia culmicola''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15296943 aleutensis Grasses of the United States Grasses of Canada Plants described in 1854