SMOOTH BROMEGRASS--Bromus inermis
Description:  Smooth bromegrass is a perennial cool-season sod grass with vigorous rhizomes.  Flowering culms may reach 4 feet tall.  Spikelets have several florets and are borne in panicles that open with maturity.  Leaves are many, flat, mostly basal, smooth, and shiny.  An M-shaped constriction about two thirds up the leaf blade is a key identifying characteristic that is shared with other bromegrasses and reed canarygrass.  Leaf sheaths are closed and tubular, open only near the top.
Distribution, habitat:  A native of the Old World, smooth bromegrass was introduced in 1884 and now is naturalized in the northern two thirds of the United States and adjacent areas of Canada.  Smooth bromegrass is widely cultivated as hay, silage, and pasture.  Although it grows best in areas having 18 inches or more precipitation, it is found statewide in planted fields, roadsides, and waste areas, often invading native grasslands.
Comments:  Smooth bromegrass, or smooth brome, the most commonly planted forage in South Dakota, is palatable and of good quality.  It is to central and eastern South Dakota what crested wheatgrass is to the western part.  Smooth bromegrass requires high nitrogen levels to remain productive; when grown with alfalfa this need is reduced.  Some smooth bromegrass selections are drought resistant like 'Cottonwood,'; others, like 'Carlton' and 'Barton,' are recognized as northern strains; 'Blair,' 'Lincoln,' and 'Rebound' are southern types, while 'Magna' is intermediate.  Each has unique characteristics with various suitabilities for establishment ease, erosion control, high yields, drought tolerance, or regrowth ability.  Smooth bromegrass fields can provide high quality nesting sites and wildlife protection.
	Picture and information can be found on pages 22 and 23 of Grassland Plants of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains, by James R. Johnson and Gary E. Larson.  Published in 1999 by South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD.