Soft brome

Description: Erect tufted annual or biennial to 1 m high; culms erect or geniculate at base.

Leaves with sheath villous; ligule obtuse to laciniate, 0.5–1.5 mm long, sometimes pubescent; blade to 7 mm wide, puberulent.

Panicle erect, ± compact, rather dense, 2–15 cm long. Spikelets plump, lanceolate, 11–22 mm long including awns, hairy. Glumes acute, keeled, pubescent, lower 3–5-nerved, 4.5–7 mm long; upper 7-nerved, 5.5–8 mm long. Lemmas keeled, overlapping when young, 8–11 mm long, pubescent or puberulent; awn straight, erect, subapical, 3–8.5 mm long. Palea c. 75% the length of the lemma.