Briza maxima is a species of the grass genus Briza. It is native to Northern Africa, Western Asia and Southern Europe and is cultivated or naturalised in the British Isles, the Azores, Australasia, the western United States, Central and South America, and Hawaii.[1]

Briza maxima
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Genus: Briza
Species:
B. maxima
Binomial name
Briza maxima

This species has a large number of common names, including big quaking grass, great quaking grass, greater quaking-grass,[2] large quaking grass, blowfly grass, rattlesnake grass, shelly grass, rattle grass, and shell grass.[3][4][1]

It grows to a height of 60 cm. Their spikelets resemble those of the unrelated species Bromus briziformis. The seeds and leaves are edible.[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Briza maxima". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ^ Joondalup Coastal Foreshore Natural Areas Management Plan Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  4. ^ Briza maxima. Archived August 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine National Weeds Strategy. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  5. ^ "Briza maxima". Survival and Self Sufficiency. Retrieved 9 September 2011.