Bromus inermis

Smooth Brome

Field view of Bromus inermis, common name Smooth Brome.	The seedheads of Smooth Brome stand straight up when it is young.	The spikelets are large, elongate, and branched. This is not a spike.
The large spikelets tend to clump.	Smooth Brome is exceptioinal: a brome with no awns.	Sometimes the panicle is reddish like so many grasses.
This seedhead has opened way up to shed its pollen from the yellow anthers. These grew inside the spikelets until ejected at anthesis.	When older and getting brown, the spikelets clump more.	Leaves of Smooth Brome

How to Identify Smooth Brome

  First determine that it is a brome, whose spikelets are always on branches. The spikelets of bromes are large and lanceolate or spearhead-like, containing many overlapping florets. Unlike most bromes, the spikelets of Smooth Brome are not awned. This is also one of the largest bromes and unlike most it stands straight up or leans slightly. The seedhead has a strong tendency to clump, making a field of it look like a bunch of top-heavy grasses.

Similar Species

  Many of the 28 Arizona bromes are somewhat similar. Fortunately, many of them are distinctive. Smooth Brome is the only common one whose spikelets are awnless. You can tell Smooth Brome by the bunches of clumped, heavy seedheads.