Hordeum vulgare (Barley)

Hordeum vulgare L.

Barley

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Commelinidae	Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others
Order	Cyperales	Flowering plants including grasses
Family	Poaceae	Grasses (but not sedges or rushes)
Genus	Hordeum	An ancient Latin name for barley, meaning “bristly,” for the long awns
Species	vulgare	Latin for “common”

About plant names...

Barley isn’t just any grass—it has become the fourth most important cereal crop worldwide, after wheat, corn, and rice. It has served as a staple food, beer, and liquor source in many cultures, dating back as far as 10,000 years. Barley traces its name to the Old English name bere, which traces further back to the Latin farina, or “flour.” “Barn” originally meant “barley house.”

Barley is native to Eurasia and northeast Africa. In North America, it is found in the wild when it escapes cultivation, but it doesn’t persist for very long. It appears in disturbed habitats. It is an annual.

Plants: Stems are stout, 20-55" (50-140 cm).

Leaves: Leaf blades are glabrous (smooth), 3½-10" (9-25 cm) × ⅛-¾" (6-20 mm).

Flowers: There is a small floret on each spikelet.

Fruits: Spikes are comprised of sessile, densely packed spikelets, like tiny ears of corn. “Two-row” barley has a center fertile spikelet surrounded by sterile lateral spikelets. “Six-row” barley has clusters of three sessile, fertile spikelets. Long nearly parallel upward-pointing narrow awns distinguish barley from other grasses. Awns are up to 6" (16 cm) long.

Edibility: An important food crop for livestock and people.

Online References:

Hordeum vulgare on gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org

Hordeum vulgare on Wikipedia

Hordeum vulgare on www.sciencedirect.com

Hordeum vulgare from the Jepson Manual