spikelet, are unequal in morphology and persist after maturity. Both the upper and lower glumes may have apices ranging from blunt to abruptly pointed. The lower glume is 5 to 7 mm long with 3 to 7 veins and an oblong to elliptical outline. The upper one is slightly larger, measuring 6 to 9 mm long with 5 to 9 veins and an ovate to broadly elliptical shape. The lemmas, the outer of the two husks enclosing a flower, measure 7.5 to 9 mm long by 5 to 5.5 mm wide and have an obovate to obovate-elliptic outline. They have 7 to 9 prominent veins, 2 very small teeth, and membranous margins that are more flexible than the otherwise firm centre. Each lemma has a fine, rough awn that measures 4 to 8 mm and may be either straight or bending. The paleas, the upper of the two husks that enclose a flower, are narrowly elliptical in outline and are shorter than the lemmas. They are bifid (i.e. split in two) to the base with the split keel being somewhat pubescent. The bifid paleas distinguish the interrupted brome from all other species in the genus. Each spikelet contains 5 to 8 flowers. The anthers are 1 to 1.5 mm long. The caryopsis is tightly enclosed and is narrowly ellipsoid in outline. The chromosome number is 2n = 28. Distribution and habitat 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. The plant was found primarily in waste places and as a weed in arable crops, particularly sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia), rye grass (Lolium perenne) and clover (Trifolium sp.). It was also found on the sides of roads and tracks. Re-introduction Philip M. Smith (1941–2004), a botanist from the University of Edinburgh who specialised in brome grasses, collected seeds in the 1970s from the last population of the interrupted brome in Cambridge. He germinated the seeds and grew