''Bromus carinatus'' is a species of brome grass known by the common names California brome and mountain brome.

Distribution

It is native to western North America from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

to northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, where it can be found in many types of habitat. It is known in parts of the American midwest and eastern North America as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

Description

''Bromus carinatus'' is a perennial

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial ...

growing in clumps 0.5 to 1.5 meters tall, with many narrow leaves up to 40 centimeters long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a spreading or drooping array of flat spikelets longer than they are wide. The grass is wind-pollinated but is also sometimes

cleistogamous Cleistogamy is a type of automatic self-pollination of certain plants that can propagate by using non-opening, self-pollinating flowers. Especially well known in peanuts, peas, and pansies, this behavior is most widespread in the grass family. How ...

, so that the flowers pollinate themselves, especially under stressful conditions. It also reproduces vegetatively via

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

s. This species is highly variable. It can be easily confused with '' B. catharticus'' and ''B. stamineus''. Bromus carinatus

Uses

This grass is used for control of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

and revegetation of damaged land, as well as a highly palatable forage for livestock; however, it has the capacity to become a

noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or liv ...

in agricultural settings.USDA Plant Fact Sheet
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References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Bromus carinatus''USDA Plants Profile''Bromus carinatus'' - Photo gallery
carinatus Bunchgrasses of North America Native grasses of California Grasses of Mexico Grasses of the United States Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Alaska Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Pooideae-stub