Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Hordeum vulgare
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Common Barley at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The original wild form is often treated as H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum and the cultivated, non-shattering derivative as ssp. vulgare (Hancock 2004). The wild form was used as a food source since at least 19,000 years ago, and "ssp. vulgare" developed by 8,500 years ago, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hordeum vulgare
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Hordeum vulgare
INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 24 (2007)
Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Hordeum vulgare
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-23-003:
Hordeum vulgare FAMILY Poaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Hordeum vulgare var. trifurcatum
INCLUDING Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Hordeum vulgare var. vulgare
COMMON NAME:
Barley
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_hovu_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_hovut_001_lvd
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Hordeum vulgare
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hordeum vulgare
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Hordeum vulgare
INCLUDING
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 24
Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Hordeum vulgare
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-23-003:
Hordeum vulgare
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Hordeum vulgare var. trifurcatum
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Hordeum vulgare var. vulgare
4902
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Annual
Habitat: Cultivated fields, commonly cultivated, rare as a waif, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Eurasia
Uncommon in NC Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, 2-ranked
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Spikelets 1-flowered, 3 per node
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer?
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".