Single Record

Participant Info

Species
Bromopsis ciliata [Bromopsis canadensis] [Bromus canadensis] [Bromus ciliatus]
Family
Poaceae
CommonName
fringed brome
Presence
yes
Status
native
EarliestDate
1935
LatestDate
2025
Ecosystem
foothill, montane, subalpine, tundra
Geobotanical
Garitas, SSanjuans, Culebras, NCristos
Counties
Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache
Passes
WildlifePreserves
Other Localities
Del Norte
Comments
Perennial and cool-season, fringed brome in the Watershed has been vouchered fifteen or so times, from a variety of habitats and vegetative zones. It ranges from foothill (e.g., near Crestone, Saguache Co, 1991) to alpine (upper Cottonwood Creek, Saguache Co, 2006). Bromopsis ciliatus is most common in mixed conifer forests. BONAP (2025) shows the species from all Watershed counties in Colorado. It follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico to the Big Bend region of Texas. Its USA distribution is extensive, with records from all states except for Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and the Deep South. Superficially, Bromopsis ciliatus can be mistaken for Anisantha tectorum (cheatgrass), but B. ciliatus is perennial, not annual, and its awns are shorter (3-5 mm compared to 10-18 mm). B. ciliatus and B. richardsonii are also very similar, and sometimes they are combined into one species. Note that some authorities place Bromopsis ciliatus in an inclusive Bromus (e.g., Allred et al. 2020; BONAP, 2025).