Relatives
Bromopsis benekenii (Lange) Holub - Lesser Hairy-brome.
Taxonomic position.
Family Poaceae Barnhart, genus Bromopsis Fourr.Synonyms:
Zerna benekenii (Lange) Lindeman , Bromus benekenii Trimen, Bromus ramosus (non Huds)., Bromopsis ramosa subsp. benekenii (Lange) Tzvel.Morphology and biology.
Perennial plant 80-120 cm tall. Sheaths of lower leaves densely hairy, those of upper ones glabrous or shortly pubescent. Leaves flat, 5-10 mm wide, scabrous. Panicle 20-30 cm long, vith very long, up to 10 cm, thin, horizontally rising or drooping branclets bearing on ends 1-5 spikelets, lower panicle branchlets bearing 2-5 spikelets. Spikelets lanceolate, 4-9-flowered, about 2.5 cm long. Lemma with 3 veins and awn almost as long as lemma. Cross-pollinated, anemophilous plant. Flowers in July, fruits in August. 2n=28.Distribution.
European part of the former USSR, except for the north and dry southern steppes, mountain Crimea, Caucasus, mountains of Central Asia, Altai.Ecology.
From lowland to middle montane zone. Mesophyte. In deciduous and mixed forests, glades, on slopes.Use and economic value.
Forage grass, drought- and cold-resistant, undemanding to soil.References:
Grossheim AA. 1939. Flora of Caucasus. 2nd ed. V.1. 402 p. (In Russian).Shelyag-Sosonko YuR., ed. Grasses of Ukraine. 1977. Kiev: Naukova Dumka. 518 p. (In Russian).
Kovalevskaya SS., ed. 1968. Manual of plants of Middle Asia. V.1. Tashkent. 226 p. (In Russian).
Fedorov AA., ed. 1974. Flora of the European part of the USSR. V.1. Leningrad: Nauka. 404 p. (In Russian).
Pavlov NV., ed. 1956. Flora of Kazakhstan. V.1. Alma-Ata. 354 p. (In Russian).
Rozhevits RYu., Shishkin BK., eds. 1934. Flora URSS. V.2. 778 p. (In Russian).
Tzvelev NN. 1976. Grasses of the Soviet Union. Leningrad: Nauka. 788 p. (In Russian).
Hulten E., Fries M. 1986. Atlas of North European vascular plants north of the Tropic of Cancer. V.1-3. Konigstein: Koeltz Scientific Books.