Noxious weeds in Gilpin County
Photo credits: Irene Shonle
Downy brome/Cheat grass (Bromus tectorum)
Cheatgrass, also known as downy brome (Bromus tectorum), originally
from Eurasia, is rapidly becoming one of the biggest problem plants
in the Western United States. It has already taken over large areas
in the plains areas of the Front Range, and has destroyed millions
of acres in the West. Because of this, it is on the State Noxious
Weed List, and has been added to the Gilpin County list as well.
It is very difficult to control once established, and we in the
mountains are in the stage of early invasion -- it’s not yet
too late too keep it from taking over.
Once you learn to recognize it, it is easy to spot, even when traveling
along the highway at 60 miles an hour. It is light green, with nodding
seeds heads that wave in the slightest breeze, and forms thick-but-
airy, shimmering clumps. As it matures, it changes to a purplish-brown
color and then to a straw color. It dries out before most grasses
do, which also helps in the identification.
Cheatgrass is native to the Mediterranean region and Eurasia. It
was first identified in the United States in the late 1800s and
by the early 1900s cheatgrass was found in every western state.
Cheatgrass is an annual grass, which means that each plant starts
from a seed each year, grows to maturity, produces seed and dies.
Researchers have found that the viable life of cheatgrass seeds
is at least 5 years and a single plant under good growing conditions
can produce several thousand seeds. These factors assure there will
be seeds continuously available for germination if the soil moisture
and temperature are suitable once cheatgrass occupies a site –which
means control efforts must continue for that long. Cheatgrass seed
is easily spread, it has small spines or awns about ½ inch
long on each seed that readily attach to the clothing of people,
the hair of animals and it is light enough that it can be blown
around and lodge in the underside of vehicles.
Once cheatgrass gets a strong foothold, it can easily take over
a site, completely taking over native plants. But choking out native
plants is not even the worst of it. It also dramatically changes
the fire ecology of an area.
Fire and cheatgrass conspire to build each other up and ultimately
destroy the native ecosystem. With every new fire, cheatgrass takes
over more and more acreage and can ignite with the first strike
of lightning. And with each new crop of cheatgrass comes the certainty
that successive fires will burn hotter and more often, converting
still more areas into uniform carpets of cheatgrass.
If you discover small patches on your property, you can keep them
from taking over your yard by pulling them. Because it is an annual
plant, pulling will get rid of it (although you may have to keep
watch for a few years to ensure there are no more seeds waiting
in the soil). Cheat grass can be mowed or weed whacked, but be sure
to do so before the seeds develop, or you will just spread the seeds.
In Gilpin County, cheatgrass goes to seed in mid-June.
For more information:
http://www.cwma.org/weed_descriptions/downy_brome.html
http://weeds.montana.edu/crop/brome.htm
http://eesc.orst.edu/AgComWebFile/EdMat/PNW474.pdf
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