Cheatgrass
Bromus tectorum
Cheatgrass gets its name because it matures and dies early, 'cheating' farmers out of late-season forage and stealing vital moisture from native plants.
- Scientific name
- Bromus tectorum
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Liliopsida › Poales › Poaceae › Bromus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Disturbed soils, shrub-steppe, rangelands, roadsides, and open grasslands.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis; absorbs water and nutrients rapidly from shallow soil).
- Range
- North America, Europe, Asia, North Africa, Australia
- Size
- 10 to 60 cm tall
- Lifespan
- Annual (under 1 year)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Itself an ecological threat; managed through herbicide application, targeted grazing, and native revegetation efforts.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to touch, but its sharp, barbed seedheads (awns) cling aggressively to socks, gear, and pet fur. After walking through infested areas, thoroughly brush yourself and your pets to prevent spreading this invasive weed and to protect animals from painful skin punctures. If an awn becomes embedded in a pet's ear, nose, or paw, seek veterinary assistance.
Bromus tectorum , known as drooping brome or cheatgrass , is a winter annual grass native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa, but has become invasive in many other areas. It now is present in most of Europe, southern Russia, Japan, South Africa, Australia, New Zeland, Iceland, Greenland, North America and Asia. In the eastern US B. tectorum is common along roadsides and as a crop weed, but usually does not dominate an ecosystem. It has become...
Photo: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/f0101415-df9c-432d-ac73-756aa49b3767.md