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Bromus comes from a Greek word for a type of oat, and tectorum comes from tector which means overlaying and tectum which means roof. [2] Bromus tectorum is a winter annual grass native to Eurasia usually germinating in autumn, overwintering as a seedling, then flowering in the spring or early summer. [9]
It has been shown that while some native desert plant species have seeds with self-burial mechanisms that can establish readily in crusted areas, many exotic invasive plants do not. Therefore, the presence of biological soil crusts may slow the establishment of invasive plant species such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). [21]
Bromus is a large genus of grasses, classified in its own tribe Bromeae. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] They are commonly known as bromes , brome grasses , cheat grasses or chess grasses . Estimates in the scientific literature of the number of species have ranged from 100 to 400, but plant taxonomists currently recognize around 160–170 species.
"Obligate seeders" are plants with large, fire-activated seed banks that germinate, grow, and mature rapidly following a fire, in order to reproduce and renew the seed bank before the next fire. [ 23 ] [ 24 ] Seeds may contain the receptor protein KAI2, that is activated by the growth hormones karrikin released by the fire.
Bromus japonicus is an annual or biennial tufted grass growing 0.2–1 m (7.9 in – 3 ft 3.4 in) high. The culms are erect or ascending. The sheaths of the grass are pubescent, though upper sheaths are occasionally glabrous.
Pyrenophora seminiperda on Bromus tectorum seeds. It has been hypothesized that the fungus arrived in North America with invasive grasses from Eurasia. [4] BFOD has been suggested as a method of biocontrol of the invasive cheatgrass, one of the most important invasive species in the USA.
One example of an invasive species that changed fire regime in Western North America is Bromus tectorum. [19] Historical fire return intervals in the Snake River Plain sagebrush was 60–110 years, but currently, due to the presence of cheat grass, it burns every 5 years. [19]
Bromus tectorum is a vigorous grass from Europe which has been introduced to the United States where it has become invasive. It is highly adapted to fire, producing large amounts of flammable detritus and increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires.