Grass : Soft Bromes Family:-

Soft Bromes of the Grass Family are " a variable group of slender greyish, softly downy annuals or biennials, with flat leaves rolled in bud, a short blunt ligule and tubular sheaths soon splitting, the lower usually hairy. Flower-heads varying from small, erect and compact to large, open and drooping; spikelets fat-looking, oblong, narrowed at the top, rather flattened, usually hairless and breaking up when ripe; lower glume broad and swollen, generally distinctly veined; pales overlapping, the lower with a slender, hardly spreading awn; anthers normally short, on short stalks. " from Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978

Grass : Soft Bromes Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Habitat Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Alpine Catstail

(Alpine Timothy)

Phleum commutatum (Phleum alpinum, Phleum alpinum var. commutatum, Phleum commutatum Gaudin var. americanum)

July-August

A loosely tufted perennial herb usually found over damp, calcareous or base-enriched substrates in the mountains. It occurs in a variety of habitats, including moist or dry cliff-faces, corrie rock ledges and wet grassy slopes. From 610 m on Braeriach (S. Aberdeen) to 1220 m on Cairntoul (S. Aberdeen).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Alpine Foxtail

Alopecurus alpinus (Alepecurus borealis)

July-August

A shortly rhizomatous perennial herb, found in oligotrophic springs and flushes, or on their borders, often associated with late snow-beds. It occurs on a wide range of acidic or slightly basic rocks. From 450 m on Widdybank Fell (Durham) to 1220 m on Braeriach (S. Aberdeen).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Alpine Hair-Grass

Deschampsia alpina

(Deschampsia cespitosa subsp. alpina)

July-August

A tufted perennial of very open montane habitats, growing on rock ledges, slumped soil and gravelly flushes, often in areas of late snow-lie. It reproduces vegetatively by proliferous spikelets. From 800 m to 1235 m (Ben Macdui, S. Aberdeen).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Barley

(Common Barley, Six-rowed Barley)

Hordeum vulgare

(Hordeum aegiceras, Hordeum distichon, Hordeum hexastichon, Hordeum irregulare, Hordeum sativum)

June-July

It is sometimes found on arable land as a relic of cultivation, and on roadsides and waste ground as a bird-seed and grain casual. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Barnyard Grass

(Cockspur)

Echinochloa crusgalli

(Panicum crus-galli, Echinochloa muricata, Echinochloa occidentalis)

August-September

A rather stout annual occurring as a casual of rubbish tips, waste places and cultivated ground, mainly from bird-seed but also from wool shoddy, soya-bean and other sources; sometimes sown as food for game (Beckett et al., 1999). Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bearded Couch

(Bearded Wheatgrass, Bearded Wild Rye)

Agropyron caninum (Elymus caninus, Elytrigia canina, Roegneria canina, Triticum caninum)

June-August

A loosely tufted perennial herb, intolerant of grazing, found in partially shaded sites in woodland, on river banks and roadside margins on free-draining, mainly base-rich, soils. It is also found in mountain areas in gullies, on cliffs and rock-ledges. 0-810 m (Creag na Caillich, Mid Perth).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Beard Grass

(Annual Rabbitsfoot Grass, Annual Beard-grass)

Polypogon monspeliensis

June-August

An annual of barish places by the sea, in damp, cattle-trodden grazing marshes, at the edges of dried-up brackish pools and ditches, and in the uppermost parts of saltmarshes. Also around docks and inland as a casual from wool, bird-seed and other sources. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bermuda Grass

Cynodon dactylon

August-September

A mat-forming perennial herb, found on eroding fore-dunes in dry sandy places and short grassland by the sea, including lawns and sea-front promenades, and inland on lawns and roadside verges. It is also found around docks, on rubbish tips and as a casual from wool shoddy and other sources. Lowland. Weed in USA.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Black Bent

(Redtop, Black Bentgrass)

Agrostis gigantea

(Agrosis alba, Agrostis nigra)

July-August

A sprawling, perennial herb, behaving as a rampant weed in cornfields and neglected arable land, particularly on lighter soils, where it spreads by seed and by rhizomes. In wetter habitats, where it is much rarer, it can persist in taller, closed vegetation by rhizomatous growth. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Black Oat
(Syn. Bristle Oat, Sand Oat, Small Oat, Avoine Rude, Rauhhafer, Schwarzhafer, Aveia-preta, Lopsided Oat)

Avena strigosa

June-August

An annual grass once extensively cultivated, and also occurring as a field weed in N. & W. Britain, and in Ireland. It is an infrequent casual elsewhere. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bog Hair-Grass

Deschampsia setacea

July-August

A densely tufted perennial of peaty or stony margins of lochs, shallow pools and seasonally inundated depressions on heaths, and on acid bogs. It appears to favour bare areas that are flooded in winter but dry in summer, and possibly where there is some lateral water movement. 0-320 m (Loch Morlich, Easterness).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bottle-Grass

(Green Bristlegrass, Green Foxtail, Green Millet, Pigeongrass, Wild Millet)

Setaria viridis

August onwards

An annual occurring as a casual of cultivated and waste ground, road verges and rubbish tips, mainly introduced in bird-seed but also from wool shoddy, oil-seed, esparto and grain. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bread Wheat (Common Wheat)

Triticum aestivum

June-Sptember

A self-pollinating annual which occurs as a casual in cereal fields and in all manner of waste places, both as a residue of crops and as a bird-seed alien. Lowland. Superfood.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Breckland Bent

(Dense Silkybent)

Apera interrupta

(Agrostis interrupta)

June-July

An annual predominantly found in arable fields, where it can be a weed, but also recorded from road verges, trackways and quarries. It has a more permanent niche in some tightly grazed grassy or grass-heath habitats. It occurs in waste ground as a casual from wool shoddy and imported aggregates, and as a seed impurity. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bristle Bent

Agrostis setacea

(Agrostis curtisii)

June-July

A tufted perennial herb of the drier parts of impoverished, sandy and peaty heaths, especially those with impeded drainage, occasionally extending to more consistently waterlogged ground. In closed communities, it occurs as scattered plants, but it can seed prolifically into burnt or disturbed ground and rapidly form an almost continuous cover. It also occurs in open acidic woodland over gravel and sand. Generally lowland, but reaching 610 m on Dartmoor (S. Devon). The probable value of this species as a food for hill livestock is discussed

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Brown Bent

(Rhode Island Bent, Velvet Bent Grass)

Agrostis canina ssp canina

(Agrostis vinealis)

June-August

A shortly rhizomatous perennial herb, mainly of dry or free-draining, acidic, sandy or peaty soils on heaths, in acidic grass-heath, in open woodland (especially Betula, Pinus and Quercus), in woodland clearings and on rides. On some lowland heaths A. vinealis may grow in damp situations, but unlike A. canina it avoids waterlogged soils. It is a drought-resistant lawn grass. 0-845 m (Little Dun Fell, Westmorland), and probably higher in Scotland.

Flower

Foliage from Rochester in Kent

Foliage from North Yorkshire

Form from North Yorkshire

Bulbous Foxtail

Alopecurus bulbosus

May-August

A perennial herb of periodically flooded brackish grassland in unimproved coastal grazing marshes, at the edges of ditches and in trampled ground at the base of sea walls; also locally in the uppermost parts of saltmarshes. Lowland

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Bush Grass
(Syn. Wood Small-Reed, Chee Reedgrass)

Calamagrostis epigejos

July-August

A tufted rhizomatous perennial, occurring in damp woods, ditches, fens, ungrazed or lightly grazed grasslands, and on sheltered sea-cliffs and sand dunes; also as a colonist of artificial habitats such as old quarries, roadsides and railway banks. It usually grows on light sands or heavy clays. 0-370 m (Great Asby, Westmorland).

Flower from Buckinghamshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Flowers

Foliage from Buckinghamshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Form from Buckinghamshire. Photo by BritishFlora

California Brome

(California Bromegrass)

Bromus carinatus

(Bromus breviaristatus, Bromus laciniatus, Bromus marginatus, Ceratochloa carinata)

May onwards

A vigorous perennial herb, which is often short-lived or annual in Britain, found on road verges, towpaths, beside paths, on field-borders, waste ground and by rivers. It is cleistogamous, and seed can be produced almost all year round. Lowland. This grass is used for control of erosion and revegetation of damaged land, as well as a highly palatable forage for livestock; however, it has the capacity to become a noxious weed in agricultural settings.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Canary Grass

(Annual Canarygrass)

Phalaris canariensis

June-September

An annual of waste ground, rubbish tips, walls, roadsides and pavement cracks, especially in built-up areas. It is a casual, rarely persisting, from bird-seed, grain and, possibly, wool shoddy. Generally lowland, but reaching 430 m at Nenthead (Cumberland). Grown for birdseed.

Flower

Flower

Foliage

Form

Catstail

(Timothy)

Phleum nodosum

(Phleum pratense, Phleum pratense nodosum)

June-August

A perennial herb growing in a wide range of grassy habitats, including meadows, pastures, rough grassland, field margins and waysides; also sown in grasslands and as a casual from wool shoddy, bird-seed and other sources. P. pratense sens. str. tends to occur on rather heavier, damper soils than P. bertolonii. 0-445 m (Clun Forest, Salop).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Common Bent (Browntop Bent, Cloud Grass, Rotes Straussgras, Colonial Bentgrass)

Agrostis capillaris (Agrostis nebulosa hort, Agrostis sylvatica, Agrostis tenuis)

June-August

A rhizomatous, occasionally stoloniferous, perennial herb occurring mainly on dry or damp, neutral to moderately acidic soils; its habitats include lowland pastures, hay meadows, upland hill-pasture, heaths, open woodland and scrub, sand dunes and a range of ruderal habitats including areas contaminated by heavy metals. It is extensively used as a lawn grass, on its own or with other species. 0-1210 m (Ben Lawers, Mid Perth).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Common Cord-Grass (Townsend's Cordgrass)

Spartina townsendii

(Spartina anglica)

July onwards

A rhizomatous perennial herb of tidal mud-flats and saltmarshes, much planted as a mud-binder and forming extensive stands in many estuaries. It originated in Southampton Water (S. Hants.) in about 1890 as an amphidiploid derivative of S. x townsendii. Lowland. It is common on maritime mud in Southern England, and still spreading in England and Ireland where it is much planted to bind the mud, but it displaces native species. It is a sterile hybrid between the European Spartina maritima and the American Spartina alterniflora)

Flower from Shellness on 23 September

Flowers from Shellness in Isle of Sheppey on 23 September

Foliage from Shellness on 23 September

Form from River Medway in Kent

Common Couch

Agropyron repens

(Elymus repens, Elytrigia repens, Elytrigia vaillantiana, Triticum repens, Triticum vaillantianum)

June-September

A rhizomatous herb, found in a wide range of fertile, disturbed habitats including waste ground, roadsides, railway banks, arable land and rough grassland; also in coastal areas on sand dunes, shingle, sea walls and the margins of saltmarshes. It is a notorious weed of gardens and agricultural land. 0-430 m (Nenthead, Cumbria) and exceptionally at 845 m on Great Dun Fell (Westmorland). Noxious weed in America

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Common Millet (Broomcorn Millet, Wild Proso Millet)

Panicum miliaceum

August-September

This large, tufted annual is a frequent bird- and oil-seed casual on rubbish tips, waste ground and in woodland around pheasant feeding areas; also occurring as a grain contaminant in arable crops, especially maize. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Crab-Grass

(Hairy Crabgrass, Large Crabgrass, Purple Crabgrass)

Digitaria sanguinalis (Panicum sanguinale, Syntherisma sanguinalis)

August onwards

An annual of bulb-fields and waste places on light soils in the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly. On the mainland it is spreading as a weed of garden centres, flower borders and pavement cracks; also, as a casual, on rubbish tips. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Creeping Soft-Grass

(Creeping Velvetgrass, Houlque Molle)

Holcus mollis

July-August

A creeping, rhizomatous perennial of well-drained acidic or neutral soils, found in Quercus and Betula woods, open conifer plantations, hedge banks, on heathland, and under Pteridium. It is capable of spreading into damper grassland and is locally a troublesome weed of arable land. H. mollis tolerates occasional mowing or light grazing but is a poor competitor with more vigorous grasses. 0-580 m (Greygarth Fell, W. Lancashire).

Flower

Flowers from Rochester in Kent

Foliage

Form from Rochester in Kent

Crested Hair-Grass

(June Grass, Zierliche Kammschmiele, Zierliche Schillergras, Prairie Junegrass)

Koeleria gracilis

(Koeleria macrantha, Aira cristata, Aira macrantha, Koeleria albescens, Koeleria cristata, Koeleria mukdenensis, Koeleria nitida, Koeleria pyramidata)

June-July

A perennial herb of grasslands on infertile, mainly calcareous substrates; also around rock outcrops, screes, quarry heaps and old lead workings. In many areas it is most frequent in dry, sandy, base-rich grassland on cliff-tops and dunes. Generally lowland, but reaching at least 680 m on Mt Brandon (S. Kerry).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Curved Hard-Grass

(Curved Sicklegrass, Sicklegrass)

Parapholis incurva

July-August

An annual of bare places by the sea, including gravelly mud banks, shingle ridges, rock ledges and cliff-tops, and the uppermost parts of saltmarshes; also in artificial habitats such as sea walls and wooden mooring stays. There are rare occurrences around docks and inland as a wool and ballast alien. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Don's Twitch

(Bearded Couch-grass)

Agropyron donianum

(Elymus caninus donianum, Elymus donianum, Elymus trachycaulus donianus, Roegneria doniana, Agropyron caninum, Elymus caninus , Roegneria canina, Elytrigia canina, Brachypodium caninum, Triticum rupestre, Roegneria behmii, Goulardia canina, Triticum caninum, Agropyron biflorum, Triticum biflorum )

July-September

A loosely tufted perennial herb, intolerant of grazing, found in partially shaded sites in woodland, on river banks and roadside margins on free-draining, mainly base-rich, soils. It is also found in mountain areas in gullies, on cliffs and rock-ledges. 0-810 m (Creag na Caillich, Mid Perth).

Flower

Flowers from Inchnadamph on 5 August

Foliage from Inchnadamph in Sutherland on 5 August

Form

Downy Oat Grass

(Flaumhafer, Downy Alpine Oatgrass, Downy Oat)

Avenula pubescens

(Helictotrichon pubescens, Avena pubescens, Avenochloa pubescens)

May-July

A perennial grass growing in a wide range of moist or dry, neutral and calcareous grasslands. It is found in meadows and pastures, on roadsides and railway banks, in open woodland and rides, coastal cliffs, fixed dunes, mildly acidic grassland over gravel, and some less acidic heaths. It tolerates modest mowing, grazing and manuring, but not artificial fertilisers or competition from vigorous fodder-grasses. 0-550 m (Moor House, Cumberland).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Dwarf Millet

(Nit-grass)

Milium scabrum

(Gastridium ventricosum)

March-May

An annual of well-drained grasslands on calcareous substrates, especially on S.-facing slopes where the turf is broken by patches of crumbling soil. It used to be a frequent weed of cornfields, and is an occasional wool and grain casual. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora:-

"W.D. Clayton, M.S. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson

What is GrassBase?

GrassBase will ultimately provide an integrated, online view of the World Grass Species databases which have historically been held in two separate downloadable databases. The first step towards this integration has been the generation of nearly 11,000 species descriptons from the DELTA format that they're encoded in. In addition to this the synonymy/nomenclature database now contains links to these species descriptions integrated with searches for the accepted name and synonyms for just over 60,000 grass names."

To view a description just click on the name of the species you want from the GrassBase Descriptions List.