Bromus sterilis plants._IMG_0477. commons.wikimedia.org (Accessed 11/2017).

Bromus sterilis is an annual C3 grass (Williams et al. 2011), tufted, 30-80 cm tall, stems hairless; sheaths softly hairy, ligules to 0.2-0.3 cm, white, membranous, margin deeply toothed. 

Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università di Trieste – Progetto Dryades – Picture by Andrea Moro – Comune di Trieste, Monte Valerio, Campus Universitario., TS, Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Italia, – Image licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share-Alike 3.0 License (Accessed 11/2017).

Leaves alternate, 0.2-0.4 cm wide, softly hairy. 

Flower spikelets 1-2 per branch, each 2.5-3 cm long, not including awns, 4-8 flowered; glumes needle-shaped, unequal, the first 0.7-1.4 cm, the second 3-veined, 0.9-1.7 cm; lemmas narrow, 1.3-2 cm long, tip 2-toothed, with awn 2-3 cm long arising between teeth; inflorescence 10-20 cm long, branches elongate, thread-like, often drooping; blooming and fruiting May-Sept. 

Bromus sterilis. spikelet. by Andrea Moro. Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università di Trieste – Progetto Dryades. licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (Accessed 11/2017).

Wetland status:NL. 

Frequency in NYC: Infrequent, (possibly mistaken for B. tectorum and undercounted). 

Origin: Europe. 

Habitat: Open, dry soil, sandy fill, roadsides.