Bromus sitchensis

Trin.
Common names: Sitka brome Alaska brome
Endemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 24. Treatment on page 201.
Please click on the illustration for a higher resolution version.
Illustrator: Cindy Roché

Copyright: Utah State University

Plants perennial; loosely ces¬pitose. Culms 120-180 cm tall, 3-5 mm thick, erect. Sheaths glabrous or sparsely pilose; auricles absent; ligules 3-4 mm, glabrous or hairy, obtuse, lacerate; blades 20^40 cm long, 2-9 mm wide, flat, sparsely pilose adaxially or on both surfaces. Panicles 25-35 cm, open; lower branches to 20 cm, 2-4 (6) per node, spreading, often drooping, with 1-3 spikelets on the distal 1/2 sometimes confined to the tips. Spikelets 18-38 mm, elliptic to lanceolate, strongly laterally compressed, with (5) 6-9 florets. Glumes glabrous, sometimes scabrous; lower glumes 6-10 mm, 3-5-veined; upper glumes 8-11 mm, 5-7-veined; lemmas 12-14 (15) mm, lanceolate, laterally compressed, 7-11-veined, strongly keeled at least distally, usually glabrous, sometimes hirtellous, margins sometimes sparsely pilose, apices entire or with acute teeth, teeth shorter than 1 mm; awns 5-10 mm; anthers to 6 mm. 2n = 42, 56.

Distribution

Oreg., Alaska, Calif., Wash., B.C.

Discussion

Bromus sitchensis grows on exposed rock bluffs and cliffs, and in meadows, often in the partial shade of forests along the ocean edge, and on road verges and other disturbed sites. Its range extends from the Aleutian Islands and Alaska panhandle through British Columbia to southern California.

Bromus sitchensis resembles B. aleutensis, the two sometimes being treated as conspecific varieties. Bromus sitchensis is predominantly outcrossing, while B. aleutensis is predominantly self-fertilizing (C.L. Hitchcock 1969).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Bromus sitchensis"
membranous +  and scarious +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
with acute teeth +  and entire +
toothed +  and emarginate +
Leon E. Pavlickf +
divaricate +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
straight +
distinct +
subterminal +  and terminal +
geniculate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
40 cm400 mm <br />0.4 m <br /> (?) +
not evident +
on both surfaces +  and pilose +
cross +, linear +  and narrowly lanceolate +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
drooping;reflexed;usually ascending;spreading +
spikelike +
Sitka brome +  and Alaska brome +
not branching +
120 cm1,200 mm <br />1.2 m <br /> (180 cm1,800 mm <br />1.8 m <br />) +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (190 cm1,900 mm <br />1.9 m <br />) +
not woody +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
Oreg. +, Alaska +, Calif. +, Wash. +  and B.C. +
liquid +, soft +  and hard +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
6 +  and 9 +
terete +  and laterally compressed +
1-9(11)-veined +
always shorter +  and usually shorter +
lanceolate +
subtending +
mucronate +  and acute +
unequal +
uncinate +
solid +  and hollow +
hirtellous +  and glabrous +
keeled +, compressed +  and lanceolate +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br />) +
herbaceous +  and coriaceous +
hairy +  and glabrous +
lacerate +  and obtuse +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
lanceolate +
fleshy +  and membranous +
drooping +  and spreading +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br />) +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
hairy +  and glabrous +
well-developed +
reduced +
25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br /> (35 cm350 mm <br />0.35 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
pilose +  and glabrous +
not viviparous +
compressed +, elliptic +  and lanceolate +
1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br /> (3.8 cm38 mm <br />0.038 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
simple +  and compound +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Bromus sitchensis +
Bromus sect. Ceratochloa +
species +
membranous +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (?) +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1.1 cm11 mm <br />0.011 m <br />) +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +