Bromus rubens L., Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Anisantha rubens (L.) Nevski; Bromus purpurascens Delile

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: hong que mai

English: foxtail brome, foxtail chess, red brome

French: brome rougeâtre

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Habit: Annual; culms solitary, or caespitose. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending; 10-40 cm long. Leaf-sheaths hirsute. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades 2-12 cm long; 3.5-6 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface hirsute; hairy on both sides. Inflorescence a panicle. Peduncle pubescent above. Panicle contracted; obovate; 5-10 cm long; 2-5 cm wide. Panicle branches pubescent. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Spikelets comprising 4-8 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets cuneate; laterally compressed; 15-30 mm long; 2-6 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Glumes persistent; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume linear; 5-9 mm long; 0.66-0.75 times length of upper glume; membranous; much thinner on margins; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume surface glabrous, or hirsute. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 7-13.5 mm long; 0.75 times length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; with hyaline margins; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume surface glabrous, or hispid. Upper glume apex acute. Florets: Fertile florets divergent. Fertile lemma elliptic; 10-17 mm long; 2-3 mm wide; chartaceous; without keel; 5-7 -veined. Lemma lateral veins distinct. Lemma surface glabrous, or pilose. Lemma apex dentate; 2 -fid; with lobes 2-3 mm long; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn subapical; straight; 7-23 mm long overall. Palea keels ciliate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped. Flower: Lodicules 2; membranous. Anthers 3; 2 mm long. Ovary with a fleshy appendage above style insertion; pubescent on apex.  Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; 8-11 mm long; hairy at apex; apex fleshy. Hilum linear"  (GrassBase)

"It is distinguished from Bromus madritensis by its dense panicle of erect branches, pubescent peduncles, and strongly nerved lemmas less than 3 mm wide"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1507).

Habitat/ecology:  "Deserts and desert scrub, coastal scrub, disturbed sites.  The plant enhances the potential for the start and spread of fires because the dead and dry stems persist for long times"  (Weber, 2003; p. 74).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Canary Islands, northern Africa, Europe and western Asia (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1507)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Wagner, Warren L. (1999) (p. 25) Vouchers cited: Hosaka 2521 (BISH), Bherbst 271 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1507) Voucher cited: Hosaka 1845 (BISH) Adventive
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Wagner, Warren L. (1999) (p. 25) Vouchers cited: Hosaka 1845 (BISH), Hosaka 1853 (BISH)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Dry slopes; ca. 3900 m. Xinjiang.
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 192)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (p. 372) Collected once in 1944, present status unknown.

Control: 

Physical:  "Scattered plants are easy to remove by hand pulling.  Mulching is sued to reduce seedling emergence, prescribed burning in late autumn to kill seedlings".

Chemical:  "Larger stands are treated with herbicides such as atrazine or glyphosate"  (Weber, 2003; p. 72).

Additional information:
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Information from the California Invasive Pest Council

Additional online information about Bromus rubens is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Bromus rubens as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Bromus rubens may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Clayton, W.D./Harman, K.T./Williamson, H. 2011. World Grass Species: Descriptions, Identification, and Information Retrieval [GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora]. The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Edgar, E./Connor, H. 2000. Flora of New Zealand, vol. V: Gramineae. Manaaki Whenua Press. .

Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar. 1980. Grass weeds, vol. 2. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 137 pp. + plates.

Herbst, Derral R./Wagner, Warren L. 1999. Contributions to the flora of Hawai‘i. VII. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1998. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 58:12-36.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).