Cheat Grass (Bromus tectorum)

Taxonomy and growth

Family: Gramineae
Genus: Bromus
Life cycle: annual
Height: 1 m
Fertility: Wind
Flower type: hermaphrodite
Pollinators: Wind

Uses

Toxicity

Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.

The awns of the plant can cause mechanical injury to grazing animals^[7].

Edible uses

Seed - cooked^[5]. A famine food, the small seed can be cooked into a gruel in times of food shortage^[5]. A coffee is made from the roasted seed^[2].

Product or use: Coffee

Plant part: Seed

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

A paste made from the seeds is applied as a poultice to the chest to relieve chest pains^[6].

Product or use: Miscellany

Material uses

The leaves have been used as a bedding^[5].

Product or use: Bedding

Environment

Range: S. Europe - Mediterranean. Naturalized in N. America.
Habitat: Roadsides and waste places, also in thatched roofs in Eastern N. America^[8].
Light: full sun
Shade tolerance: no shade
Water: moderate
Hardiness: Zone 8+
Soil textures: sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH: acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage: well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil: No
Drought: intolerant

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ and only just cover. Germination should take place within 2 weeks.

Cultivation

Succeeds in ordinary well-drained garden soil in a sunny position^[1]^[3].

Bromus breviaristatusMountain Brome
Bromus carinatusCalifornian Brome
Bromus inermisSmooth Brome
Bromus japonicusJapanese Chess

References

Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989-00-00
↩
Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169
↩
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
↩
Hitchcock. A. S. Manual of the Grasses of the United States Dover Publications. New York. 1971-00-00 ISBN 0-486-22717-0
Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
↩1 ↩2 ↩3
Manandhar. N. P. Plants and People of Nepal Timber Press. Oregon. 2002-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-527-6
↩
Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999-00-00 http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm
- Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas
↩
Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00
↩