Poaceae
Bromus

Bromus pectinatus Thunb.

First published in Prodr. Pl. Cap.: 22 (1794)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Sahara to Kenya, S. Africa, Madagascar. It is an annual and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

Gramineae, W. D. Clayton, S. M. Phillips & S. A. Renvoize. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1974

Morphology General Habit
Tufted annual; culms 10–80 cm. high, erect.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades 5–30 cm. long and 2–8 mm. wide; sheaths pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle oblong, 5–25 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 4–7-flowered, 13–30 mm. long, laterally compressed, scaberulous to puberulous, sometimes glabrous or pubescent; glumes lanceolate, the lower 5.5–8 mm. long, 3-nerved, acuminate, the upper 7–11 mm. long, 7-nerved, acute; lemmas narrowly ovate, the lower 8–13 mm. long, herbaceous with hyaline margins, weakly keeled, 7-nerved, acutely bidentate (rarely truncate and denticulate), the awn arising 1–3 mm. below the hyaline tip; awns 9–17 mm. long, the lower a little shorter than the upper, slender, straight; callus short, rounded; palea reaching to the base of the awn, the keels pectinate-ciliate with hairs 0.5 mm. long; anthers 1 mm. long.
Habitat
A ruderal of weedy places and old farmland in the uplands; 2200–3000 m.
Distribution
K3 U1 Sudan Republic, through Ethiopia to Egypt and SinaiSouth Africa
[FTEA]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Morphology General Habit
Annual; caespitose. Culms erect; 10-80 cm long. Leaf-sheaths pubescent. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 4-6 mm long; lacerate. Leaf-blades 5-30 cm long; 2-8 mm wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; oblong; nodding; 5-25 cm long. Primary panicle branches drooping. Panicle branches terete; scabrous. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 4-7 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong, or cuneate; laterally compressed; 13-30 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus obtuse.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 4-7 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong, or cuneate; laterally compressed; 13-30 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus obtuse.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate; 5.5-8 mm long; 0.7-0.8 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 3 -veined. Lower glume apex acuminate. Upper glume lanceolate; 7-11 mm long; 0.8-0.9 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; 1-keeled; 7 -veined. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma ovate; 8-13 mm long; herbaceous; much thinner above; much thinner on margins; keeled; lightly keeled; 7 -veined. Lemma surface smooth, or scaberulous; glabrous, or puberulous, or pubescent. Lemma apex dentate; 2 -fid; acute; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn subapical; 9-17 mm long overall. Palea 0.8 length of lemma. Palea keels ciliate (0.5mm long hairs). Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Lodicules 2; membranous. Anthers 3; 1 mm long. Ovary with a fleshy appendage above style insertion; pubescent on apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; hairy at apex; apex fleshy. Hilum linear.
Distribution
Africa: north, northeast tropical, east tropical, south, middle Atlantic ocean, and western Indian ocean. Asia-temperate: Soviet Middle Asia, western Asia, Arabia, and China. Asia-tropical: India.
Reference
Bromeae. FTEA.
[GB]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

    • Clayton, W.D., Vorontsova, M.S., Harman, K.T. and Williamson, H. (2006 onwards). GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0