Virginia ecotype
Duration: Perennial (cool-season grass)
Habit: Upright, clump-forming, arching foliage
Size: 2 to 4 feet tall; 1 to 2 feet wide
Flowering Time: June to August (wind pollinated)
Bloom Color: Greenish panicles with purple tinges, maturing to tan lightly fuzzy seed heads
Habitat: Moist woodlands, woodland edges, shaded slopes, thickets, stream banks
Moisture: Average to moist; prefers well-drained soils with organic matter
Light: Part shade to full shade; needs more moisture in higher sun
Soils: Loamy or silty soils; tolerates some clay content if moist
Uses: Woodland gardens, naturalized shade plantings, restoration in forest understories, erosion control, stream banks
Bromus pubescens (Hairy woodland brome)
Bromus pubescens is commonly called Hairy Wood Brome or Woodland Brome, or Hairy Wood Chess. This native woodland grass thrives in shaded, moist habitats. It forms loose, arching clumps of dark green foliage and sends up airy, dangling panicles of greenish flowers in summer, often touched with purple before curing into tan seed heads.
Hairy woodland brome grows in well-behaved clumps, blending gracefully into woodland gardens or shaded natural areas where it adds height and texture. It prefers to grow in sandy, loamy or silty soils. Its tolerance for shade gives it a place in landscapes where many other grasses struggle to grow.
This native brome provides forage for forest animals, and cover and nesting habitat for insects and small mammals. The seeds serve as a food source for ruffed grouse, wild turkey, various sparrows, the eastern box turtle, and the white-footed mouse. As a cool-season grass, it greens up late and early in the year, where it does most of its growth.
A key difference between hair wood brome and the many non-native invasive bromes is the lightly fuzzy seed heads, the hairs which are easier to spot in sunlight.