Brachypodium distachyon
False brome
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Not Native
Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes
Brachypodium distachyon (False brome) is a non-native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by . Annual habit is diagnostic vs perennial congeners.
False brome is a naturalized annual grass found in southern North Coast Ranges, southern California Ranges, Sierra Nevada, Great Valley, Central Western California, southern California Coast, southern Channel Islands, Peninsular Ranges, and desert regions in disturbed areas and dry slopes at elevations below 900 meters. Flowering from April to July, this grass produces pale green to green spikelets in loose clusters up to 7 centimeters long. Growing with decumbent to erect stems 15 to 40 centimeters tall, the plant forms loosely tufted clusters with conspicuously pubescent nodes. Its leaf blades are flat, 1.5 to 8 centimeters long and 3 to 5 millimeters wide, spreading from the stem. The spikelets feature 7 to 15 florets with lemmas 7 to 10 millimeters long and awns 4 to 17 millimeters in length.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 2 sympatric species. Annual habit is diagnostic vs perennial congeners.
Habitat and range
Habitat: Disturbed areas, dry slopes
Elevation: < 900 m
California counties: Marin, Amador, Butte, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Solano, Sonoma, Yuba, Alameda, Calaveras, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Ventura, El Dorado, Sacramento, Tuolumne, Nevada, Mariposa, San Mateo, Monterey, Tehama, Stanislaus, Napa, Yolo, Merced, Shasta, Placer, Santa Cruz
Outside California: Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Australia, native to southern Europe
Bloom period
Brachypodium distachyon blooms Apr-Jul.
Conservation status
Cal-IPC Yes
How to tell it apart
vs Bromus: Brachypodium upper glume has 5-9 veins; Bromus typically has fewer.; vs Ehrharta: Brachypodium has fringed seed case edges; Ehrharta has smooth, hardened sterile lemmas below each fertile floret.; vs Hordeum: Brachypodium spikelets lack long awns and ear-like leaf bases; Hordeum has both.; vs Festuca: Brachypodium has strongly fringed inner bract edges; Festuca bracts are smooth.; vs Hilaria: Brachypodium has solitary spikelets at each node; Hilaria has 3-spikelet clusters.
Frequently asked questions
Is Brachypodium distachyon native to California?
No. Brachypodium distachyon is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Brachypodium distachyon bloom?
Brachypodium distachyon blooms Apr-Jul.
Where in California does Brachypodium distachyon grow?
Brachypodium distachyon occurs in Marin, Amador, Butte, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Solano and other counties, at elevations of < 900 m.
What plant family does Brachypodium distachyon belong to?
Brachypodium distachyon is in the Poaceae family, genus Brachypodium.
Is Brachypodium distachyon invasive in California?
Brachypodium distachyon is listed by Cal-IPC with an invasiveness rating of Yes.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.