Smooth Brome
Bromus inermis
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in fields, roadsides, clearings, other disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native status: sources disagree, under review. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- About 2.5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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Do not plant. Listed invasive in Louisiana.
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At a glance
- Bloom
- June to July
- Fruiting season
- Summer
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 1 Louisiana parish.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.
Who uses this plant?
11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Bromus
- Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
- Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Show all 11
- Gonioterma mistrella
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
11BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Bromus
- Alectoris chukarChukar
- Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Corvus brachyrhynchosAmerican Crow
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Oreortyx pictusMountain Quail
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
- Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
Show all 11
- Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 2.5 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Awnless Brome
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Louisiana occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications