Although invasions by exotic plants have increased dramatically as human travel and commerce have increased, few have been comprehensively described. Understanding the patterns of invasive species' spread over space and time will help guide management activities and policy. Tracing the earliest appearances of an exotic plant reveals likely sites of introduction, paving the way for genetic studies to quantify founder events and identify potential source populations. Red brome (Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens) is a Mediterranean winter annual grass that has invaded even relatively undisturbed areas of western North America, where it threatens native plant communities. This study used herbarium records and contemporary published accounts to trace the early introductions and subsequent spread of red brome in western North America. The results challenge the most frequently cited sources describing the early history of this grass and suggest three possible modes for early introductions: the California

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Codisposing saline wastewater from electrical generating stations with flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubber sludge simplifies waste disposal but produces a saline waste that will later require revegetation. This waste is low in macronutrients, contains high levels of salts and B, and has a fine texture. This study identified plants, based on germination test results, that show promise for sowing at an evaporation pond in eastern Arizona where scrubber sludge and wastewater are codisposed. Forty‐four grass, forb, and shrub accessions germinated on filter paper in saline water from the disposal pond. Dilutions of disposal pond water with untreated well water from the site ranged in EC from 0.17 to 3.03 S m−1. Our criteria for evaluating plants to be used in revegetating saline FGD sludge were: (i) ability to germinate in increasing levels of disposal pond water and (ii) ease of establishment from seed. The percentage of pond water that would reduce germination to 50% that of well‐water controls (P50) ranged as high as >100 for the most tolerant plants. Accessions that show promise for sowing at these types of saline waste disposal sites include: Elytrigia pontica ‘Jose’ and ‘Largo’, Atriplex gardneri, Puccinellia airoides, P. distans ‘Fults’, Festuca arundinacea ‘Alta’ and ‘Fawn’, Krascheninnikovia lanata, Kochia prostrata ‘Immigrant’, Panicum virgatum ‘Nebraska 28’, Sporobolus airoides ‘Saltalk’, Leymus angustus ‘Praireland’ and Elymus trachycaulus ‘Pryor’.