Plant Guide with Characteristics, Classification, and other detailed information

Plant Guide

Bromus marginatus Nees ex Steud.
mountain brome
BRMA4

Summary
Duration	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	Slow
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	Medium
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)	4
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Moderate
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	High
pH, Minimum	5.5
pH, Maximum	8
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum
Precipitation, Minimum	10
Precipitation, Maximum	20
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	20
Salinity Tolerance	Medium
Shade Tolerance	Intolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-28

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	64080
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
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	Medium
Palatable Graze Animal	High
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Medium
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

Bromus marginatus Nees ex Steud.
mountain brome
BRMA4
Cultivar: Bromar

Summary
Duration	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	Slow
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	Medium
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	Medium
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	Moderate
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	High
pH, Minimum	5.5
pH, Maximum	8
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum
Precipitation, Minimum	10
Precipitation, Maximum	20
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	12
Salinity Tolerance	Medium
Shade Tolerance	Intolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-28

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	64080
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
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	Medium
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 marginatus Nees ex Steud. -- mountain brome P

Alternate Names

Bromus carinatus, California brome

Uses

Soil stabilization/erosion control: Mountain brome germinates and establishes quickly when seeded making it a good choice for quick cover of disturbed sites such as highway right-of-ways, coal mine spoils, heavy metal mine tailings, spent oil shale and wildfire revegetation. It is a short-lived pioneer perennial species and when planted with slower developing native plants, provides excellent cover crop attributes for the slower establishing species. It has good root production, especially when combined with a legume. Mountain brome roots decompose slowly providing long lasting erosion control even after the plants have died.

Wildlife: Mountain brome is an excellent plant for the revegetation of livestock and big game ranges in foothill and mountain locations. It is highly palatable in the spring providing good forage for wildlife and livestock. The leaves provide excellent grazing for elk, cattle and horses and are also eaten by sheep and deer. The seeds are readily eaten by small mammals and birds.

Grazing/livestock/pasture: Because mountain brome is a short lived perennial it should not be used for permanent pasture. Hay production levels drop after the third to fourth year as plants lose vigor and begin to die out. It can be used successfully, however, as a mixture component with slower developing long-lived perennial pasture species.

Legal Status

Consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

Taxonomy

There is debate concerning the proper placement of mountain brome in plant taxonomy. The California brome (Bromus carinatus) complex, to which mountain brome belongs along with foothills brome (B. polyanthus), is highly variable and taxonomists have named many taxa that can be viewed at a specific or subspecific level. Following the rules of botanical nomenclature, if B. marginatus is synonymous with B. carinatus, then B. carinatus has priority because that name was published by William Jackson Hooker and George Walker Arnott in 1840 (Hook. & Arn. Bot. Beechey’s Voyage 403. 1840), while B. marginatus wasn’t published until 1854 by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Essenbeck, some fourteen years later (Nees ex Steudel, Syn. Pl. Glum. 1: 322. 1854). However, if they are to be seen as separate entities, then the group should be broken into the following three taxa as suggested by Cronquist et al (1977):

1 plants annual or biennial, 3-10 dm tall: awns usually > 7mm long B. carinatus

1 plants perennial, 8-12 dm tall; awns usually < 7 mm long

2 plants mostly pubescent throughout B. marginatus

2 plants glabrous, at least in the spikelets B. polyanthus

Description

General: Grass Family (Poaceae). Mountain brome is a short-lived, perennial, cool season C-3 type bunch grass native to the mountain and intermountain regions of Western North America.

Plants develop from a shallow, non-rhizomatous root system. Culms are tall, usually 0.5 to 1.0 meters (20 to 40 inches), but sometimes reaching 1.5 meters (60 inches). Leaves are flat and broad, 4 to 10 mm wide (0.15 to 0.4 inches), mostly soft hairy, especially around the sheath, but can be glabrous or scabrous. Auricles are absent or much reduced, and the ligule is membranous, from 1 to 4 mm (0.05 to 0.15 inches) long.

The inflorescence is a loosely contracted, nodding panicle reaching 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 inches) long. Spikelets are 5 to 10 flowered, 20 to 40 mm (0.8 to 1.6 inches) long; the glumes lanceolate, strongly keeled. The first glume is 7 to 11 mm (0.3 to 0.45 inches) long with 3 to 5 nerves. The second glume is larger, 9 to 13 mm (0.35 to 0.5 inches) long and 5 to 7 nerved. Lemmas are long, 11 to 15 mm (0.45 to 0.6 inches), keeled with the apex slightly bifid to entire with awns 4 to 6 mm (0.15 to 0.25 inches) long.

Distribution

Mountain brome is common in the mountains and foothills of the Intermountain West. It is often found in relatively moist habitats in mountain big sagebrush, mountain shrub, aspen, and spruce-fir communities and up to sub-alpine mountain meadows.

For more information on distribution, please consult the plant profile page for this species on the PLANTS website.

Adaptation

Mountain brome is well adapted to the foothills and mountains of the Intermountain West in areas with sixteen inches or more annual precipitation. It can be found naturally at elevations ranging from 1,500 to 3,200 meters (5,000 to 10,500 feet) and has been tested at elevations as high as 3,000 meters (9,850 feet). It prefers deep, fertile, mesic soils of medium to fine textures, but also survives on thin, dry or coarse soils, resulting in lower levels of production.

Mountain brome does not tolerate flooding or high water tables but can tolerate very mild salinity. It is winter hardy and has good shade tolerance and fair tolerance to fire.

Establishment

Seed should be planted in a well-prepared, firm, weed-free seedbed in late fall or early spring. Spring plantings should not be later than May 15^th in the mountain foothill zone or no later that June 1^st in the mountain zone. Dormant fall plantings should be made no earlier than October 20^th and preferably after November 1^st.

Seed should be planted at ¼ to ½ inch depth. For pure stands the recommended drill seeding rate is 10 lb/ac.

For native mixtures limit mountain brome to 2 lb/acre to ensure slower developing species are allowed adequate space for establishment. For erosion control plantings following wildfire, seeding rates should be 1.5 to 2.0 times the rates listed above (broadcast plantings should target 40 to 60 seeds per square foot).

This species is often seeded into rough terrain not easily transversed by equipment. In such cases mountain brome can be successfully broadcast seeded.

Management

Seedlings germinate in early spring (or fall under proper conditions) and plants mature by late June to early August. Moderate fall regrowth will occur with adequate soil moisture or when fall rains occur. Mountain brome has medium to rapid seedling vigor. However, mountain brome plants do not anchor their root systems rapidly, and plantings should be protected from grazing until a strong root system has established and plants are producing seed heads.

Weed control measures may be required during the establishment year.

Plants are fairly sensitive to grazing and should be managed carefully. Grazing utilization should be limited to 50% of the total annual growth.

Environmental Concerns

Although mountain brome is native to Western North America, it is sometimes considered “weedy” due to its ability to quickly establish in disturbed sites.

Please consult with your local NRCS Field Office, Cooperative Extension Service Office or state natural resource or agriculture department regarding this species’ status and use. Weed information is also available from the PLANTS Web site.

Pests and Potential Problems

Mountain brome is known to be susceptible to head smut (Ustilago bullata); however ‘Garnet’ mountain brome has shown increased head smut resistance when compared to other mountain brome accessions. Fungicidal seed treatments have proven to be an effective means of further controlling head smut in mountain brome (see Hewitt, 1977) in seed production fields.

Mountain brome releases are resistant to stem rust, leaf rust, and leaf spot, but are susceptible to stripe rust and to aphid injury. Aphid injury typically occurs when mountain brome is grown in pure solid stands.

Seed Production

Drill seed in the fall as a dormant planting or in spring into a firm weed-free seed bed with soil moisture at field capacity.

Plant 5.0 pounds pure live seed (PLS) per acre at 36 inch row spacing or 25 to 30 PLS per foot of drill row. Soil surface should be kept moist throughout the two week germination period. Low rates of broadleaf herbicides should be applied when grasses are in the 3 to 5 leaf stage. Fertilization is not recommended during the first growing season unless indicated by a soil test.

Good soil moisture should be maintained throughout the growing season and post harvest. If sprinkler irrigated, plants should not be watered during flowering.

Seed is normally ready to harvest in late June to mid July of the second growing season. Harvest by direct combining or swather. Swathing with a temporary “diaper” (a heavy piece of plastic or canvas clipped under the belt draper) can minimize seed loss due to shatter.

Expected seed yields range from 300 lb/acre dryland to 600 to 1200 lb/acre irrigated for the first and second year of production. Third year yields are approximately 600 to 800 lb/acre. By the fourth year irrigated yields normally drop below 400 lb/acre.

Seed should be dried to 12 percent moisture or less before storing. Seed should be stored in a cool, dry environment. Under proper storage conditions seed will retain viability for 5 to 7 years.

Weed control measures may be required during the establishment year, and cultivation for maintenance of row culture is recommended for the life of the stand. Seed production fields should be regularly monitored for insects and disease. Soil tests should be conducted on seed production fields to determine the proper fertilization regimen, however only a moderate response to fertilization can be expected from mountain brome, and fertilization may stimulate weed growth and competition.

Releases

There are two registered varieties of mountain brome that have been released in the U.S., ‘Bromar’ and “Garnet”. If, however, one takes a broader view of the taxonomy, one must also include two additional varieties of California brome, ‘Cucamonga’ and ‘Deborah’.

‘Bromar’ was chosen from among 154 accessions collected in the Pacific Northwest and was released in 1946 cooperatively by Washington, Idaho and Oregon Agricultural Experiment Stations at Pullman, Moscow and Corvallis. It was selected for being taller, leafier and having better seedling vigor than commercial strains. It shows outstanding performance when planted in mixtures with sweetclover or red clover for short pasture rotations. Tests have shown Bromar to be moderately resistant to head smut, but chemical seed treatment is recommended. Breeder seed is maintained by the NRCS Plant Materials Center in Pullman, Washington and Foundation seed is produced by the Washington Crop Improvement Association.

‘Cucamonga’ comes from the Mediterranean climate of California and was released in 1949 by California AES, Davis and the California NRCS Plant Materials Center. It has a short green period which limits its value as a forage plant, but it has been used successfully for erosion control and ground cover on droughty sites with low fertility. It is known to be susceptible to head smut, and therefore must be treated chemically.

‘Deborah’ was developed in Great Britain by combining two ecotypes, one from the UK and one from the South American Andes. It shows good drought tolerance, moderate resistance to smut and powdery mildew, but is susceptible to fruit fly.

Garnet Germplasm was released in 2001 by the Upper Colorado Environmental Plant Center in Meeker, Colorado and the Bridger Plant Materials Center in Bridger, Montana. The original collection came from a site near the town of Garnet in Granite County, Montana in 1976. Garnet shows improved seedling vigor, longer plant duration, extended seed production and better resistance to head smut when compared to Bromar. Tested class seed is available from the UCEPC in Meeker, CO.

References

Alderson, J. & W. C. Sharp 1994. Grass varieties in the United States. Agriculture Handbook No. 170. USDA, SCS, Washington, DC.

Cornforth, B., L. St. John and D G. Ogle. 2001. Seed production standards for conservation plants in the intermountain West. Technical Note 14. USDA-NRCS. Boise.

Cronquist, A., A.H. Holmgren, N.H. Holmgren and J.L. Reveal. 1977. Intermountain flora: vascular plants of the intermountain West, USA. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx.

Hewitt, B.V. 1977. Control of head smut (Ustilago Bullata Berkeley) in mountain brome (Bromus marginatus Nees). Masters Thesis. Washington State University, Pullman.

Janish, J.R. 1969. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest, Part 1: Vascular Cryptogams, Gymnosperms, and Monocotyledons. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Law, A.G. and J.L Schwendiman. 1946. Bromar mountain bromegrass. Bulletin No. 479. Washington State University, Pullman.

Ogle, D.G., L. St. John, M. Stannard & L. Holzworth. 2003. Grass, grass-like, forb, legume, and woody species for the intermountain west. Technical Note 24. USDA-NRCS, Boise.

Oregon State University Cooperative Extension Service. Mountain bromegrass. Range Plant Leaflet 16.

USDA, NRCS. 2004. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (https://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Winslow, Susan R. 2002. Propagation protocol for production of Bromus marginatus seeds; Bridger Plant Materials Center, Bridger, Montana. (https://www.nativeplantnetwork.org, 25 October 2004). University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources, Forest Research Nursery, Moscow.

Prepared By:

Derek J. Tilley