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Summary
Duration	Annual, Perennial
Growth Habit	Graminoid
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator
Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring and Summer
After Harvest Regrowth Rate	Moderate
Bloat	Low
C:N Ratio	Low
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	No
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	Yellow
Flower Conspicuous	No
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Dense
Foliage Porosity Winter	Porous
Foliage Texture	Coarse
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	No
Growth Form	Bunch
Growth Rate	Rapid
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)
Height, Mature (feet)	4
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Short
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	No
Shape and Orientation	Erect
Toxicity	None
Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	None
CaCO3 Tolerance	Medium
Cold Stratification Required	No
Drought Tolerance	Medium
Fertility Requirement	Low
Fire Tolerance	Low
Frost Free Days, Minimum	150
Hedge Tolerance	None
Moisture Use	Low
pH, Minimum	5.5
pH, Maximum	8
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum
Precipitation, Minimum	8
Precipitation, Maximum	20
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	8
Salinity Tolerance	Medium
Shade Tolerance	Intolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	17
Reproduction
Bloom Period	Early Spring
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	High
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Spring
Fruit/Seed Period End	Spring
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	No
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	No
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	106680
Seed Spread Rate	Rapid
Seedling Vigor	High
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None
Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	Yes
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	No
Palatable Browse Animal	High
Palatable Graze Animal	High
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Medium
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

Summary
Duration	Annual, Perennial
Growth Habit	Graminoid
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator
Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Fall, Winter and Spring
After Harvest Regrowth Rate	None
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	High
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	No
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	Yellow
Flower Conspicuous	No
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Moderate
Foliage Porosity Winter	Porous
Foliage Texture	Coarse
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	No
Growth Form	Bunch
Growth Rate	Rapid
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)
Height, Mature (feet)	2.5
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Short
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	No
Shape and Orientation	Erect
Toxicity	None
Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	None
CaCO3 Tolerance	Low
Cold Stratification Required	No
Drought Tolerance	Low
Fertility Requirement	Medium
Fire Tolerance	None
Frost Free Days, Minimum	140
Hedge Tolerance	None
Moisture Use	Medium
pH, Minimum	6
pH, Maximum	8
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum
Precipitation, Minimum	14
Precipitation, Maximum	20
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	8
Salinity Tolerance	Medium
Shade Tolerance	Intolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	2
Reproduction
Bloom Period	Spring
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	High
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Spring
Fruit/Seed Period End	Summer
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	No
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	No
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	106680
Seed Spread Rate	Moderate
Seedling Vigor	High
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None
Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	Yes
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	No
Palatable Browse Animal	High
Palatable Graze Animal	High
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Medium
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

 

Kingdom  Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom  Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision  Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division  Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class  Liliopsida -- Monocotyledons

Subclass  Commelinidae

Order  Cyperales

Family  Poaceae -- Grass family

Genus  Bromus L. -- brome P

Species  Bromus carinatus Hook. & Arn. -- California brome P

 

Alternate Names

Big brome, Bromus carinatus var. californicus, Bromus carinatus var. hookerianus, Bromus laciniatus, Ceratochloa carinata, keeled brome, mountain brome.

 

Uses

Ethnobotanic: The seeds of California brome were feared by the Native Americans to be poisonous if swallowed.  However, they were often dried and ground into flour to make bread and other foods.

 

Livestock: California brome is an important forage species for livestock throughout its growing season.  It is sometimes planted as pasture grass.

 

Restoration: California brome is a rapid establisher and has good soil stabilizing capabilities.  For these reasons, it is useful for revegetation and erosion control in disturbed rangeland sites, spent oil shale, coalmine spoils, heavy metal mine tailings, and roadsides.  It is best suited for sideslopes and backslopes because it can withstand periodic drought. 

 

It is effective in improving water infiltration and has been used successfully on waterfront sites of the San Francisco Bay.

 

Wildlife: Elk, grizzly bear, geese, squirrels, pocket gophers, and other rodents consume California brome plants.  Birds consume the seeds.  California brome also provides good cover for small mammals, small non-game birds, and upland game birds.

 

Status

The Western Society of Weed Science has listed California brome as having invasive characteristics.  Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

 

Weediness

This plant may become weedy or invasive in some regions or habitats and may displace desirable vegetation if not properly managed. Please consult with your local NRCS Field Office, Cooperative Extension Service office, or state natural resource or agriculture department regarding its status and use.  Weed information is also available from the PLANTS Web site at plants.usda.gov.

 

Description

General: Grass Family (Poaceae).  California brome is a native, cool-season perennial bunchgrass that lives 3 to 5 years and grows to be 60 to 120 cm tall.  The roots of California brome are fibrous, grow very quickly, and become deep and widespread.  Young plants are erect, but older stems grow along the ground with only the apical tips remaining erect (decumbent).  Stems are robust with hairy sheaths.  Leaf blades are 0.5 to 1 cm wide and 15 to 30 cm long.  They can be pubescent or glabrous.  The inflorescence is a stiff, open panicle, 10 to 20 cm long and droops at maturity.  The spikelets are 5 to 7 flowered, 2 to 4 cm long, 5 to 7 mm wide and flattened.  Lemmas are 1 to 1.5 cm long, flattened, keeled and usually pubescent.  The awns are 2 to 5 mm long.  Seeds mature in May and June at low elevations and by late August at high elevations.

 

Distribution: California brome occurs from Alaska east to Ontario and south to Illinois, Texas, California, and northern Mexico.  It is native from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains and is casually introduced in the Great Plains.  For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site (https://plants.usda.gov).

 

Habitat: California brome grows in open woods and forests, shrublands, grasslands, meadows, and waste places.  It is closely associated with pine dropseed, bracken fern, corn lily, dwarf purple monkey flower, mountain muhly, and Rocky Mountain iris and shares dominance in plant communities like coastal prairie and northern coastal scrub, sagebrush steppes, aspen, oak woodland, and Douglas-fir.

 

Adaptation

California brome grows well in a variety of soils including poorly drained types.  It is most abundant in moderately moist, well-developed, deep, medium-textured soils.  It tolerates soils in the pH range of 5.5 to 8.0.  It occurs in bottomlands, mountain slopes, valleys, and ridge tops, up to elevations of 4,000 m.  It requires nearly full to full sunlight.

 

Management

Although fair control of California brome by trifluralin and pronomaide has been documented, it does not respond to most herbicides.

 

It is reduced by heavy grazing and favored in moderate to light grazing.  Sheep are more likely to kill plants by trampling them rather than overgrazing.  Cattle are more likely to overgraze than trample the plants.

 

California brome is top-killed by fire, but appears to recover within a few years.  It can sprout from surviving root crowns as early as the next growing season.  Coverage of California brome is slightly reduced from pre-fire levels for several years after fire, then returns to pre-fire levels.   It is sometimes seeded in after fire to help stabilize soil.

 

Pests and Potential Problems

California brome is sometimes prone to stem rust, head smut, leaf rust, and leaf spot.

 

Seeds and Plant Production

Seeds are collected between May 1 and September 10, depending on rate of maturation.  Mature inflorescences turn from green-purple to brown and mature seeds are light brown-gray.  Cleaning is not required for germination.  Seeds should be stored in a dry, refrigerated area. 

 

Seeds are surface sown, 3 seeds per container, and planted 2 times the diameter of seed to depth.  Sixty-five percent germination will occur within 30 days and seedlings are transplanted into individual containers.

 

Other sources state that 85% germination will occur in 13 days at 30^oC, 83% in 13 days between 19^o and 23^oC, and 46% in 21 days at 14^oC.  Natural seed stock will have higher germination rates than commercial stock.

 

Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

California brome seed is readily available from commercial sources. 

 

‘Bromar’ is recommended for revegetating high-elevation sites.  It is resistant to stem rust, head smut, leaf rust, and leaf spot.

 

‘Cucamonga’ is recommended for erosion control and ground cover on droughty, low fertility grasslands.  It can also be used for revegetation of disturbed areas, and wildfire land rehabilitation   It is susceptible to head smut, which can be controlled with a mercuric fungicide.  This cultivar was collected from a native stand near Cucamonga, California in 1939.

 

 ‘Luval’ is a drought resistant cultivar.

 

Control

Please contact your local agricultural extension specialist or county weed specialist to learn what works best in your area and how to use it safely.  Always read label and safety instructions for each control method. Trade names and control measures appear in this document only to provide specific information.  USDA NRCS does not guarantee or warranty the products and control methods named, and other products may be equally effective. 

 

References

Agricultural Research Center. 2004. GRIN taxonomy (https://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/index, 2 July 2004). USDA, Beltsville.

 

Harrison, S. 2000. Rangeland ecosystems and plants (https://www.usask.ca/agriculture/plantsci/classes/range/index.html, 2 July 2004). University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon.

 

Howard, J.L. 1997. Bromus carinatus. (https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/, 2 July 2004). Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Missoula.

 

Moerman, D. 2003. Native American ethnobotany database (https://herb.umd.umich.edu, 2 July 2004). University of Michigan, Dearborn.

 

Pratt, M., J. Bowns, R. Banner, and A. Rasmussen. 2002. Range plants of Utah (https://extension.usu.edu/rangeplants/index.htm, 2 July 2004). Utah State University Extension, Logan.

 

Wilson, M. 2004. Bromus carinatus (https://oregonstate.edu/~wilsomar/Species/Brca.htm, 2 August 2004).  Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

 

Young, B. 2001. Propagation protocol for production of container Bromus carinatus Hook. & Arn. Plants. (https://www.native plantnetwork.org, 2 July 2004). College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow.

 

Prepared By:

Sarah Wennerberg

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

Species Coordinator:

Mark Skinner

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

Edited: 4Aug2004 sbw; 21Oct2004 rln; 27sep05 jsp; 25may06jsp

 

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

 

 

 

Attribution:  U.S. Department of Agriculture