Flora of New Zealand Series

spikey brome, grazing brome

Robust, light green, rather coarse-leaved perennial tufts, 60-200 cm, with spreading culms and heavy panicles. Leaf-sheath softly villous with long, silvery hairs. Ligule 1.5-2.5 mm, denticulate, abaxially glabrous. Leaf-blade 16-40 cm × 5-11 mm, with few, scattered, fine hairs; margins minutely scabrid, tip fine, acute. Culm ascending to ± erect, internodes glabrous. Panicle 8-30 cm, with stiffly erect to later spreading, finely scabrid branches. Spikelets 2.5-4 cm, 7-8-flowered, light green. Glumes unequal, acute; lower 7.5-10 mm, 5-7-nerved, very shortly appressed-pubescent, upper 11-12 mm, 7-9-nerved, usually more glabrous but finely scabrid on keel. Lemma 11.5-14.5 mm, 9-13-nerved, keeled, usually appressed scabrid-pubescent in upper ½, more glabrous and sometimes purple-suffused below; awn 3.5-9 mm. Palea very slightly < lemma. Callus with minute hairs. Rachilla scabrid. Anthers c. 0.5 mm in cleistogamous flowers. Caryopsis c. 9.5 × 2 mm.

S.: Marlborough (near Blenheim), Canterbury, North Otago; St. Roadsides and waste ground usually near the coast in areas of low rainfall.

Naturalised from South America.

Sterile plants with shorter awns and reddish purple panicles may occur (A. V. Stewart, pers. comm.).

The name B. carinatus was earlier applied in N.Z. to plants of B. stamineus.