False brome

Brachypodium distachyon

Erect, loosely tufted annual to 0.5 m high with conspicuously hairy nodes; culms geniculate.

Leaves with ligule to 2 mm long, membranous; blade short, to 3 mm wide, scabrous.

Inflorescence erect, 2–4 cm long. Spikelets 1–6 per raceme, slightly compressed, 20–40 mm long (including awn); florets 7–15, bisexual. Glumes shorter than the lemma, 1 mm long, unequal, lower 5–7-nerved, upper 7–9-nerved. Lemmas oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 7-nerved, fertile ones glabrous or sparingly hairy, with a straight or curved, terminal awn longer than the lemmas. Palea with 2 stiffly ciliate keels and 2 or more nerves.