Japanese Brome
Bromus japonicus
Found in fields, roadsides, gardens, other disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- About 3 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
Do not plant. Listed invasive in West Virginia.
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At a glance
- Bloom
- May to July
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 7 West Virginia counties.
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.
Who uses this plant?
16CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Bromus
- Amblyscirtes vialisCommon Roadside-Skipper, Black Little Skipper
- Anatrytone loganDelaware Skipper, Logan Skipper, Black-Vein Skipper
- Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Cisseps fulvicollisYellow-Collared Scape Moth
- Ctenucha virginicaVirginia Ctenucha
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Hesperia leonardusLeonard's Skipper, Blazing Star Skipper, Pawnee Prairie Skipper, Pawnee Montane Skipper
- Leucania phragmitidicolaNeedle Wainscot, Phragmites Wainscot
Show all 16
- Leucania pseudargyriaFalse Wainscot
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Polites corasPeck's Skipper, Yellow-Patch Skipper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Elachista illectella
- 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
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Green
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May 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
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 3 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
Japanese Chess
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- West Virginia DNR invasive plant list
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- West Virginia 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