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Brachypodium sylvaticum

(Slender False Brome)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Slender False Brome, Slender False Bromegrass, Slender False-Brome

Common Names in French:

Brachypode Des Bois

Common Names in German:

Waldzwenke

Common Names in Spanish:

Lastón De Los Bosques

Description

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Physical Description

Species Brachypodium sylvaticum

Perennial . Culms loosely tufted , erect , slender, (20-) 40-90 cm tall, 3-7-noded. Leaf sheaths sparsely to densely pilose , or sometimes glabrous ; leaf blades linear , usually flat, mid or dark green, 8-35 cm, 3-9 mm wide, glabrous to pilose on one or both surfaces, or hispid along veins; ligule 0.5-2 mm. Raceme 8-12 cm, suberect or nodding , spikelets 3-9; pedicels less than 2 mm. Spikelets 1.5-3 cm, subterete, florets 5-12; glumes lanceolate, glabrous, pubescent or scabrous on veins, apex acuminate or midvein extended into awn-point, lower glume 3-10 mm, 3-7-veined, upper glume 5-14 mm, 5-9-veined; lemmas 7-14 mm, pilose or hispid on margins and upper back, sometimes sparsely, or glabrous throughout; awn 5-14 mm. Anthers 2.5-5 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep. [source]

This species is the most widespread in the genus and is extremely polymorphic throughout its range . This has resulted in the description of many infraspecific variants . These are usually based on differences in pubescence of the vegetative parts and spikelets, but these characters are extremely plastic. The relative size of the spikelet parts is also variable and of doubtful taxonomic significance. [source]

The name Brachypodium sylvaticum var. kelungense is based on specimens from Taiwan with mucronate glumes, but these are found throughout the range of the species. Spikelets with acute and mucronate glumes may even occur in the same raceme. The name B. sylvaticum var. gracile has been applied to small forms in China, but it is based on a type from Germany, and such specimens are probably only depauperate . Thus, while phenotypic variants may appear very different, the characters on which they are based occur in all combinations throughout the range of the species, making the recognition of infraspecific taxa very uncertain. No detailed comparison has ever been made between the European and E Asian populations. [source]

In tropical SE Asia Brachypodium sylvaticum occurs only on mountains. [source]

Habit: Graminoid

Habitat

Mountain slopes , understory of forests [1].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,618 meters (0 to 11,870 feet).[2]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Agropyron sylvaticum (Hudson) Chevallier • B. hayatanum Honda • B. kelungense Honda • B. manshuricum Kitagawa • B. sylvaticum luzoniense Hackel • B. sylvaticum var. breviglume Keng Ex P. C. Keng • B. sylvaticum var. gracile (Weigel) Keng • B. sylvaticum var. kelungense (Honda) C. C. Hsu • B. sylvaticum var. luzoniense (Hackel) H. Hara • B. sylvaticus (Hudson) Lyons • Brachypodium formosanum Hayata • Brevipodium sylvaticum (Hudson) A. L&ouml • Bromus gracilis Weigel • Festuca sylvatica Huds. • Festuca sylvatica Hudson • Triticum sylvaticum (Hudson) Moench.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Brachypodium

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 9 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

B. caninum (Bearded Wheatgrass) · B. corniculatum (Heath False Brome) · B. distachyon (Purple False Brome) · B. distachyon 'Ibros' (False Brome Grass 'ibros') · B. distachyon 'Zulema' (False Brome Grass 'zulema') · B. phoenicoides (Thinleaf False Brome) · B. pinnatum (Heath False Brome) · B. sylvaticum (Slender False Brome) · B. unilaterale (Mat-Grass Fescue)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 15, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. "Brachypodium sylvaticum". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 368, 369. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Mean = 202.710 meters (665.059 feet), Standard Deviation = 313.890 based on 8,903 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012