Briza maxima L.
Diagnostic description:
An annual, usually solitary, sometimes forming loose tufts. Ligules 2 to 5 mm long, oblong-lanceolate, blunt. Leaf blades to 25 cm long, flat, margins slightly rough. Stems 10 to 30 cm tall. Spikelets 1 to 2.5 cm long, ovate to oblong, with up to 20 flowers, on very slender stalks, in a lax, drooping, one-sided panicle of from 1 to 15 spikelets, 3 to 10 cm long. The basal glumes brownish-violet; 4.5 to 6.5 mm long; ovate.
Distribution:
Local: Not common in Gibraltar. Mainly found on firebreaks and along roadsides of the Upper Rock.
Global: Found throughout the Mediterranean region and the Canary Islands.
Ecology:
Flowers from (March) April, May to June.
Habitat:
Grows in clearings and waysides; on open ground.
Uses:
Cultivated as a garden plant and dried for flower arrangements.