Family |
Poaceae
Achnatherum bromoides
(L.) P. Beauv.
Achnatherum bromoides (L.) P. Beauv.
(Ess. Agrostogr.: 19; 1812 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CCXLVII nº 1; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial tufted grass forming loose clumps 40–100 cm tall. Culms erect or geniculate at the base, slender, smooth, and glabrous below the nodes.
• Leaves: Mainly basal; blades linear, flat or involute when dry, 10–30 cm long, 2–5 mm wide, glabrous to sparsely scabrous on margins; sheaths smooth or slightly striate; ligule membranous, truncate or slightly toothed, 1–2 mm long.
• Inflorescence & spikelets: Panicle large, open, and flexuous, 15–30 cm long, with capillary branches bearing 1–3 distant spikelets. Spikelets solitary, 10–15 mm, with a single bisexual floret; glumes subequal, narrowly lanceolate, glabrous, exceeding the lemma. Lemma lanceolate, 6–8 mm, scabrid on the back, shortly bifid at the apex, bearing a geniculate awn 10–15 mm long, twisted at the base and scabrous above. Palea shorter than lemma, hyaline.
• Fruit: Caryopsis narrowly ellipsoid, smooth, 3–4 mm, pale brown; hilum linear.
• Phenology: Flowers from April to June; fruits mature in summer.
• Habitat & elevation: Dry open slopes, rocky or stony calcareous soils, and steppe grasslands, from lowlands to about 1 800 m.
• Lebanese distribution: Recorded by Mouterde from Beqaa Valley and Mount Lebanon foothills — Zahlé, Dahr el-Baïdar, and Ras Baalbeck; also present near Barouk and Maasser el-Shouf.
• Native range: Albania, Bulgaria, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, France, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon–Syria, Morocco, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Peninsula, Palestine, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe (POWO).
• Introduced range: Germany (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Formerly included in Stipa bromoides L.; transferred to Achnatherum based on lemma and awn morphology. Characterised by its solitary spikelets, geniculate twisted awns, and large open panicles. Closely related to A. calamagrostis but distinguished by longer lemmas and narrower panicle branches.