Bromus sterilis | Flora of Israel

Bromus sterilis, Anisantha sterilis,Genea sterilis, Barren brome, Poverty brome, Sterile brome,

Hebrew: ברומית עקרה, Arabic: شويعرة عقيمة

Scientific name:   Bromus sterilis L.
Synonym name:   Anisantha sterilis (L.) Nevski, Genea sterilis (L.) Dumort.
Common name:   barren brome, poverty brome, sterile brome
Hebrew name:   ברומית עקרה
Arabic name:   شويعرة عقيمة
Family:   Graminea (Poaceae), Grass Family, משפחת הדגניים



Bromus sterilis, Anisantha sterilis, Genea sterilis, barren brome, poverty brome, sterile brome, ברומית עקרה, شويعرة عقيمة
Life form:   Annual
Spinescence:   non
Succulence:   non
Stems:   Culms 35-100 cm, erect or geniculate near the base, glabrous.
Leaves:   Sheaths densely pubescent; auricles absent; ligules 2-2.5 mm, glabrous, acute, lacerate; blades 4-20 cm long, 1-6 mm wide, pubescent on both surfaces.
Inflorescence:   A purplish or green panicle, lax, drooping, up to 15 cm long. Spikelet branches usually much longer than the spikelets.
Flowers:   Spikelets 20-25 mm long, 6- to 13-flowered, strongly compressed, glumes slightly unequal, glabrous with 1-3 veins. Lemma 13-20 mm with a dorsal awn 15-35 mm long. Disarticulating above the persistent glumes.
Fruits / pods:   Grain 10 mm long, normally enclosed to the palea, palea almost equalling lemma
Flowering Period:   April, May
Habitat:   Ruderal situations, on wastelands and roadsides
Distribution:   Mt. Hermon, Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands
Chorotype:   Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Bromus, from the Greek broma, “food”, and bromos, “oat”.

sterilis, infertile, sterile.
Anisantha, Greek anisos “enequal” and anthos “flower.”
Genea, Greek genea “race, family, offspring, generation.”
The Hebrew word:ברומית, bromit, from the foreign languages.

  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Nevski is used to indicate Sergei Arsenjevic Nevski (1908 – 1938), a Russian botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Dumort. is used to indicate Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier (1797 – 1878), a Belgian botanist and Member of Parliament.