Other formae speciales are pathogenic on wild grasses, including agropyri on grasses in the genera Agropyron and Elymus, bromi on Bromus spp.
BMV commonly infects Bromus inermis (see Bromus) and other grasses, can be found almost anywhere wheat is grown, and thrives in areas with heavy foot or machinery traffic.
In North America, five morphologically similar groups of species, called sections, are generally recognized: Bromus, Genea, Ceratochloa, Neobromus, and Bromopsis.
Bromus | Bromus secalinus | Bromus inermis | Bromus (section) | Bromus madritensis | Bromus arvensis |
Introduced species of plants in the area are also a threat, including red brome (Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens), yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis), and medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae).
The main species in the plant communities here are Upright brome (Bromus erectus), Sheep's Fescue (Festuca ovina), Quaking-grass (Briza media), and downland herbs such as Burnet-saxifrage (Pimpinella saxifraga), Salad-burnet (Sanguisorba minor), Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris) and Dwarf Thistle (Cirsium acaule).
The hill's vegetation is species-rich chalk grassland, dominated by Upright Brome and False Oat-grass, but with many species characteristic of this habitat, including a strong population of the rare Knapweed Broomrape.