Fringed Brome

Perennial, with short rhizomes. Culms 70–120 cm tall, pubescent with reflexed hairs, 6-noded. Leaf sheaths pubescent; leaf blades 2–3 cm × 6–10 mm, glabrous or sparsely pilose on adaxial surface; ligule ca. 1 mm. Panicle broadly ovoid, nodding, 15–25 cm; branches 2 or 3 per node, curved, each bearing 1–3 spikelets. Spikelets 15–20 mm, green with membranous yellowish brown apex, florets 6 or 7; rachilla 1–2 cm, sparsely pubescent; glumes scabrid on keel, lower glume 6–7 mm, 1-veined, upper glume narrow, 8–9 mm, 3-veined; lemmas 10–12 mm, 5–7-veined, pilose near margins in lower half and along lower 1/3 of midrib, back glabrous, apex obtuse or bilobed, awned from between teeth; awn 2–6 mm, erect; palea 8–9 mm, keels ciliate. Anthers 1–1.5 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul–Sep. 2n = 14.

Mid-elevation mountains, low-elevation wet forested places, meadows. Nei Mongol [Japan, Mongolia, Russia (Far East); North America].

Bromopsis canadensis (Michaux) Holub; Bromus cana-densis Michaux; B. yezoensis Ohwi; Zerna yezoensis (Ohwi) Sugimoto.

More info for the term: fire use

The Research Project Summary Vegetation recovery following a mixed-severity
fire in aspen groves of western Wyoming provides information on prescribed
fire use and postfire response of plant community species, including fringed
brome, that was not available when this species review was originally written.

fringed brome
fringed bromegrass

More info for the terms: cover, habitat type

The white fir-Arizona walnut habitat type of Arizona and New Mexico, in
which fringed brome occurs, provides excellent cover for rodents,
turkeys, and quail. The Douglas-fir/fringed brome habitat type provides
nesting cover for band-tailed pigeons [20].

Fringed brome is a nonrhizomatous, native perennial that is generally
tufted [21,24,27]. Culms are slender, usually 1.7 to 4 feet (0.5-1.2 m)
tall, but up to 5.2 feet (1.6 m) tall in the Great Plains [24,59]. The
blades are flat, 0.12 to 0.6 inch (3-15 mm) wide and 6 to 10 inches
(15-25 cm) long [25,59]. The panicle is narrowly elongate, 2.8 to 7.2
inches (7-18 cm) long with branches ascending to drooping [24,46].
Fringed brome has a well-developed root system [25].

Fringed brome occurs from Alaska south to southern California and east
throughout the western states, the Great Plains, and discontinuously
through the midwestern, northeastern, and Atlantic coastal states
[24,29,46,59]. It occurs throughout Canada, excluding the Northwest
Territories and Prince Edward Island [23,24,37]. Fringed brome also
occurs in Mexico [29,59].

More info for the terms: fire regime, seed

Fringed brome has low tolerance to fires of moderate and high intensity
[6]. The seeds of most plants can survive grass fires [67], so it is
likely that seeds of fringed brome in grasslands survives fire. Seed
survival is increased if the seeds are covered by soil [67].

FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find FIRE REGIMES".

More info for the terms: cover, density

Grass fires in Douglas-fir/Arizona fescue habitats of which fringed
brome is a member reduced the density of conifer seedlings and
maintained grass cover, although specific effects on fringed brome were
not described [20].

Aspen/fringed brome stands in subalpine forests of Utah have a moderate
probability of being successfully prescribed burned, but only if
livestock grazing is deferred for at least one season before burning.
Postfire communities "quickly resemble prefire ones" [48].

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: hemicryptophyte

Hemicryptophyte

More info for the term: forest

Fringed brome occurs in a variety of habitats including woodlands,
forest openings, thickets, grasslands, shrublands, prairies, meadows,
marshes, bogs, fens, and stream and lake margins [24,31,40,48,51,]. It
is commonly found in moist places such as wet meadows, benches, and
along streams [46,58]. Fringed brome also occurs on moist to seasonally
dry, open or densely shaded habitats in valleys and montane zones
[20,36].

Fringed brome grows best on moist to semiwet soils, but is tolerant of
poorly drained and subirrigated conditions [13,40,54]. It grows best on
loam, silty loam, and sand, but occurs on stony or bouldery substrates
as well [13,15,39,59]. Soil pH ranges from 4.8 to 7.9 in Yellowstone
National Park [40].

Elevations for fringed brome for several states and provinces are as
follows:

Arizona 6,000-11,000 feet (1,800-3,300 m) [7,43]
California 3,630-10,560 feet (1,100-3,200 m) [27]
Colorado 6,000-11,000 feet (2,700-3,350 m) [15,26]
Michigan 600-750 feet (180-225 m) [33]
New Mexico 7,500-12,000 feet (2,285-3,600 m) [17,43]
New York 1,486-2,800 feet (445-840 m) [35]
Utah 5,015-11,580 feet (1,520-3,510 m) [59]
Wyoming 7,900 feet (2,400 m) [6]
Ontario 1,551 feet (470 m) [54]
Yukon Territory 2,440 feet (740 m) [52]

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

1 Jack pine
5 Balsam fir
12 Black spruce
13 Black spruce - tamarack
16 Aspen
18 Paper birch
21 Eastern white pine
37 Northern white-cedar
38 Tamarack
63 Cottonwood
107 White spruce
108 Red maple
201 White spruce
202 White spruce - paper birch
203 Balsam poplar
204 Black spruce
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
209 Bristlecone pine
210 Interior Douglas-fir
211 White fir
216 Blue spruce
217 Aspen
218 Lodgepole pine
219 Limber pine
220 Rocky Mountain juniper
233 Oregon white oak
235 Cottonwood - willow
237 Interior ponderosa pine
239 Pinyon - juniper
243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
245 Pacific ponderosa pine
251 White spruce - aspen
252 Paper birch
253 Black spruce - white spruce
254 Black spruce - paper birch

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

More info for the term: shrub

FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES19 Aspen - birch
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the terms: bog, forest, shrub, woodland

K005 Mixed conifer forest
K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K016 Eastern ponderosa forest
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K019 Arizona pine forest
K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
K022 Great Basin pine forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K026 Oregon oakwoods
K031 Oak - juniper woodlands
K033 Chaparral
K037 Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub
K050 Fescue - wheatgrass
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K066 Wheatgrass - needlegrass
K074 Bluestem prairie
K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
K094 Conifer bog
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K101 Elm - ash forest
K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest

More info for the terms: duff, litter

Fringed brome is probably top-killed by most fires, as are most grasses.
In northwestern Wyoming, fringed brome was "harmed" by fires of moderate
and high intensity. Moderate intensity fires killed most surface
vegetation but did not remove all litter and duff and killed less than
90 percent of mature aspens. After 3 years, fringed brome did not show
"appreciable recovery" from the fires [6].

More info for the terms: forest, habitat type

Fringed brome is a good source of forage on western forest ranges. In
Montana and Wyoming, fringed brome is browsed by livestock and is
considered one of the best range grasses in Wyoming [10,40]. In Arizona
and New Mexico, fringed brome is an important forage species for
livestock, deer, and elk throughout the summer [31,38]. Seeds are eaten
by small mammals, turkeys and other birds [25,38]. The aspen/fringed
brome habitat type of central Colorado is ideal for pocket gophers [48].

More info for the terms: association, climax, forest, grassland, habitat type, minerotrophic, shrub, woodland

Fringed brome occurs in a wide variety of habitat types including
pinyon-juniper (Pinus spp.-Juniperus spp.), quaking aspen (Populus
tremuloides), fir-spruce (Abies spp.-Picea spp.), subalpine fir (Abies
lasiocarpa), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), lodgepole pine (P.
contorta), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), maple (Acer spp.),
sagebrush, grassland, and riparian [1,6,11,40,59]. It is an indicator
of aspen and riparian community types in the Intermountain region
[11,43,45].

Fringed brome occurs in coniferous forest, in both climax and seral
communities. A Douglas-fir/fringed brome habitat type has been
described for northern New Mexico and northern Arizona [1,20,38].
Fringed brome is a member of the single-leaf pinyon-Utah juniper (Pinus
monophylla-J. osteosperma) association of northern Arizona [13].
Fringed brome is a dominant understory species in subalpine fir,
lodgepole pine, white fir (Abies concolor), and blue spruce (Picea
pungens) habitat types of Arizona and New Mexico [1,2,20,43]. It is a
common understory species in subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce (P.
engelmannii) habitat types of Idaho and western Wyoming [11].

Fringed brome also occurs in a number of other communities. It is found
in seral aspen community types, including the aspen/fringed brome
community typed described for Utah [48] and aspen-dominated community
types in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico [45]. Fringed brome is a
member of the sedge-goldenrod (Carex spp.-Solidago spp.) wet prairie
community in Michigan [33]. It also occurs in peatlands of
north-central Minnesota in minerotrophic fens [60].

In Canada, fringed brome is an understory species in a 100-year-old
black spruce (Picea mariana) forest in southeastern Manitoba [14]. It
also occurs in stagnant plantations of prethicket white spruce (P.
glauca) on oldfield sites in Ontario [56]. Fringed brome is a member
of the western snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis) shrub community
in Alberta [5].

The following publications list fringed brome as a community dominant:

A classification of forest habitat types of the northern portion of the
Cibola National Forest, New Mexico [1]
Forest habitat types in the Apache, Gila, and part of the Cibola
National Forests, Arizona and New Mexico [20]
Forest and woodland habitat types (plant associations) of northern New
Mexico and northern Arizona [38]
A classification of spruce-fir and mixed conifer habitat types of
Arizona and New Mexico [43]
Aspen community types of the Pike and San Isabel National Forests in
south-central Colorado [48]

Species not previously mentioned but commonly associated with fringed
brome in New Mexico include Arizona white oak (Quercus arizonica),
Gambel oak (Q. gambelii), silverleaf oak (Q. hypoleucoides), alligator
juniper (Juniperus deppeana), Arizona walnut (Juglans major), Arizona
madrone (Arbutus arizonica), sacahuista (Nolina microcarpa), skunkbush
sumac (Rhus trilobata), mountain snowberry (Symphoricarpos oreophilus),
dwarf bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), desert ceanothus (Ceanothus
greggii), willow (Salix spp.), Oregon-grape (Mahonia repens), western
yarrow (Achillea millefolium), bush oceanspray (Holodiscus dumosus),
Fendler meadowrue (Thalictrum fendleri), New Mexico locust (Robinia
neomexicana), green ephedra (Ephedra viridis), broom snakeweed
(Gutierrezia sarothrae), Ross sedge (Carex rossii), Thurber fescue
(Fescue thurberi), Arizona fescue (F. arizonica), and Wolf currant
(Ribes wolfii) [1,13,43].

Species not previously mentioned but commonly associated with fringed
brome in Utah and Wyoming include narrow-leaved cottonwood (Populus
angustifolium), black sage (Artemisia nova), serviceberry (Amelanchier
spp.), sticky geranium (Geranium viscosissimum), lupine (Lupinus spp.),
woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca), fireweed (Epilobium
angustifolium), shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa), northern
bedstraw (Galium boreale), Fendler bluegrass (Poa fendleriana), and
slender wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus) [3,6,12].

More info for the term: graminoid

Graminoid

More info for the terms: cover, forest

The effects of clearcutting on wildlife habitat were studied in a moist
subalpine forest in central Colorado. Fringed brome cover increased 1
year after harvest, and then fluctuated in postharvest years 2 to 5.
Percent understory cover of fringed brome before and after clearcutting
were [15]:

before logging years after logging (1978-1982)
(1976) 1 2 3 4 5

2.9 3.3 1.0 1.6 2.5 1.5

Fringed brome is highly palatable, so it is often grazed too closely.
Humphrey [31] recommended that about 33 percent of the seedstalks be
left ungrazed each year and a grazing deferment every third year be
instituted for continuous availability of fringed brome.

Energy rating is fair and protein content is poor for fringed brome
[10].

AK CA CO ID IL IN IA KS ME MA
MI MN MO MT NE NH NJ NM NV NY
NC ND OK OR PA RI SD TN TX UT
VT VA WA WI WV WY AB BC MB NB
NF NS ON PQ SK YT MEXICO

Fringed brome is highly palatable to deer, elk, and all classes of
livestock [10,31,59].

More info on this topic.

Fringed brome flowers from July to August in California, the Upper Great
Plains, and New York [24,35,46]. It flowers in August in Tennessee,
North Carolina, and West Virginia [49]. In Utah, fringed brome flowers
in August and September [3]. It flowers from July to October in Arizona
[32].

More info for the terms: cover, frequency, prescribed fire, shrub, surface fire, woodland

Frequency and cover of fringed brome increased the third year following
a spring prescribed fire in a western snowberry shrub community in
central Alberta. The increase was greater on the unburned plot than the
burned plot [5].

At Breakneck Ridge, Wyoming, a prescribed fire was conducted on August
29, 1974. Fringed brome and slender wheatgrass were the two most
abundant grasses on the site. Fire intensities were classed as follows:
light ( less than 20% of vegetation consumed and very few overstory trees killed),
moderate (21-80% of fine fuels and lesser vegetation consumed by fire
and up to 90% of the mature trees killed), and high (81-100% of fine
fuels consumed and over 90% of overstory trees killed) [6,64]. On the
moderate-intensity burn site, grass cover decreased from 15 to 10
percent by postfire year 3; on the high-intensity burn site, a 66
percent drop occurred by postfire year 3. Fringed brome was affected
most by the fire. By the end of postfire year 3, fringed brome had not
shown an appreciable recovery on moderate or high intensity burn sites
[64,65]. Production (air-dry kg/ha) of fringed brome before burning and
in postfire year 3 on plots burned at three levels of intensity were as
follows [6,64]:

before burning light intensity moderate intensity high intensity

217 267 181 87

In southern Ontario, a low-intensity prescribed surface fire in an aspen
(Populus spp.) woodland was conducted on two plots on May 8, 1972 and
two more were burned on April 24, 1973. All plots were sampled in
August of 1973. Fringed brome only occurred on the control sites, at
2.5 percent frequency [54].

More info for the terms: graminoid, secondary colonizer

Tussock graminoid
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed

More info for the terms: herbaceous, seed, stratification

Fringed brome reproduces exclusively from seed [25]. Seeds are
nondormant and can show high germination rates. Tests were conducted by
Hoffman [30] on herbaceous plants common in aspen understories of
Colorado. Fringed brome exhibited a wide range of germination capacity.
Tests were conducted with light and dark regimes, with or without
stratification, and with a variety of thermoperiods. In 9 tests out of
14, fringed brome had 100 percent germination. The lowest germination
rate recorded was 60 percent in a test in which light followed
stratification [30].

Fringed brome is wind pollinated [25].

More info on this topic.

This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

More info on this topic.

More info for the terms: climax, facultative wetland species, habitat type

Facultative Seral Species

Fringed brome occurs in seral and climax communities. It is shade
tolerant, but also grows in some open habitats [35,36,40]. It is a
facultative wetland species in Montana [10]. The aspen/fringed brome
community type is successional to coniferous climax types in subalpine
forests of Utah [47]. After major disturbances on Douglas-fir/fringed
brome habitat type sites of New Mexico and Arizona, fringed brome
quickly dominates the understory under aspen [1]. In heavily shaded
microsites in white fir/screwleaf muhly (Muhlenbergia virescens) habitat
types, fringed brome may become the dominant understory species [20].
In the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, fringed brome is found in
old-growth, intermediate-aged, and young-growth forests [17].

Bromopsis ciliatus (L.) Holub [59]

The currently accepted scientific name of fringed brome is Bromus
ciliatus L. [37,59]. It is a member of the Poaceae family. There
are two recognized forms [66]:

B. c. f. ciliatus
B. c. f. intonus (Fern.) Seymour

Some authorities classify the tetraploid race of this plant as a
distinct species, B. richardsonii Link [27,32].

Erosion control and short-term revegetation potential are rated medium,
and long-term revegetation potential is rated high for fringed brome
[10].

Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem nodes bearded or hairy, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems with inflorescence 1-2 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly closed, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath hairy, hispid or prickly, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blade auriculate, Leaf blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Leaf blades more or less hairy, Ligule present, Ligule an unfringed eciliate membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence an open panicle, openly paniculate, branches spreading, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fasci cle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence lax, widely spreading, branches drooping, pendulous, Inflorescence branches more than 10 to numerous, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets laterally compressed, Spikelet 3-10 mm wide, Spikelets with 3-7 florets, Spikelets solitary at rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fertille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating above the glumes, glumes persistent, Spikelets disarticulating beneath or between the florets, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes equal or subequal, Glumes distinctly unequal, Glumes shorter than adjacent lemma, Glumes 1 nerved, Glumes 3 nerved, Lemmas thin, chartaceous, hyaline, cartilaginous, or membranous, Lemma 5-7 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex dentate, 2-fid, Lemma distinctly awned, more than 2-3 mm, Lemma with 1 awn, Lemma awn less than 1 cm long, Lemma awned from tip, Lemma awn from sinus of bifid apex, Lem ma awns straight or curved to base, Lemma margins thin, lying flat, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea membranous, hyaline, Palea about equal to lemma, Palea 2 nerved or 2 keeled, Palea keels winged, scabrous, or ciliate, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis, Caryopsis ellipsoid, longitudinally grooved, hilum long-linear, Caryopsis hairy at apex.

Bromus ciliatus is a species of brome grass known by the common name fringed brome. It is native to most of North America, including most of Canada, most of the United States except for some portions of the South, and northern Mexico. It is a plant of many habitats, including temperate coniferous forest. The specific epithet ciliatus is Latin for "ciliate", referring to the delicate hairs of the leaf blades.