Bromus carinatus
| Bromus carinatus | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Bromus carinatus (common name: californian brome)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ and only just cover. Germination should take place within 2 weeks.
If seed is in short supply it can be surface sown in a cold frame in early spring. When large enough to handle, prick out the seedlings into individual pots and plant them out in early summer.
Division in spring. Large clumps can be planted out direct into their permanent positions whilst it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are ready to be planted out.
Cultivation: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. A potential perennial cereal crop, it is able to survive summer droughts without needing irrigation[1]. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.3 to 7.8. The plant has cleistogamous flowers - these do not open in the usual way but are self-pollinated by the plant. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Succeeds in a sunny position in most well-drained soils[2][3].
Range: Western N. America - British Columbia to California and New Mexico. Naturalized in Britain[4].
Habitat: Various habitats from moist woods to dry open meadows or sagebrush covered hills, sometimes to the timber line[5]. Found naturalized along the Thames at Kew and Oxford[4].
Edibility: Seed - cooked[6][7]. Used as a piñole[1].The dried seed can be ground into a powder and mixed with water to make a mush or made into bread[8]. The seed is rather small and fiddly to utilize[K].
Pollinators: Wind, cleistogamous
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Ceratochloa carinatus.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Bird, R. Growing from Seed Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan, 1989.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.