Bromus japonicus - Japanese Brome

Japanese brome is an annual grass that can reach 1 m in height. Stems are bent at base and the nodes are swollen and brownish. Leaf blades are flat, covered with soft, distinct, thin hair, up to 20 cm in length, and 0.25 to 0.5 cm wide. Ligules are about 1.5 mm long, membranous and hairy with ragged edges and auricles are absent. Inflorescences have long branches and pedicels, are usually drooping to one side when mature, and each branch bears 1-5 spikelets at the tip. Spikelets are oval to lance oval shaped, and are 12 to 30 mm long the excluding awns. Awns are 8-10 mm long and straight to bent/twisted at maturity. First glumes are usually 3- to 5- nerved and second glumes are 5- to 9-nerved. Lemmas are broader at the upper-half, tapering to the bottom, with margins not strongly enrolled. All parts of the plant remain green while alive and then turn tan upon curing. Japanese Brome is found in Europe, Africa and Asia. In India it is found in NW Himalayas, at altitudes up to 3700 m.