About

Bromus interruptus, commonly known as the interrupted brome, is a flowering plant in the grass family. It was endemic to southern and central England, but it went extinct in the wild in 1972. After several decades in cultivation, the interrupted brome was re-introduced to Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve in 2004, marking the first known re-introduction of an extinct plant in Britain. The plant was a weed of waste places and arable agriculture, particularly of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) cultivation. It can be distinguished from all other Bromus species by its deeply split, or bifid, palea.

The plant appeared to spread rapidly after its discovery in 1849, which is normally indicative of introduced species. However, the species is thought to have arisen in the 19th century as a new species through a substantial and abrupt genetic change.

Where it grows

The interrupted brome is endemic to south–central and south-eastern England and was formerly found from southern Lincolnshire south to eastern Kent and northern Somerset. It was last seen in the wild in Cambridgeshire in 1972 and is currently classified as extinct in the wild. Its demise is thought to have been due to improved seed cleaning methods, which effectively eradicated the species as a weed of crops. Since that time, the plant has persisted in cultivation in the United Kingdom. It has also been introduced to the Netherlands, where it is now established.

Other Bromus plants

Aleutian brome · Weedy brome · Nodding brome · Australian brome · Arizona brome · Field brome · Bromus auleticus · Lesser Hairy Brome · Chilean chess · Meadow brome · Patagonian Brome · Rattlesnake brome