Bromus rubens

Red Brome

Field view of Bromus rubens, common name Red Brome.	Old Red Brome gets yellowish and dense.	Red when mature, brown/tan when old.
Only about a foot or so tall.	When young, the seedheads are green.	Younger green one on right; more mature and reddish on left.
This is a songle spikelet with two glumes at base and about seven long-awned florets.	Two florets, one spred open on left, the other intact on right. Note long caryopsis (seed).	Roots of Red Brome

How to Identify Red Brome

  The clumped oval panicles of Red Brome are upright, bristly with awns, compact, and quite easy to identify. Red Brome is highly invasive and, left alone, it grows in broad patches. The spikelets of Red Brome are thickly awned and red when mature. It is only a foot or so high. It prefers the warmer climate of lower elevations and you won't find it in the forests.

Similar Species

  Many of the 28 Arizona bromes are somewhat similar. Fortunately, many of them are distinctive, including this one. You can tell Red Brome by the upright, compact, clumped, long-awned seedheads.