Living Landscapes

GRASSES OF THE COLUMBIA BASIN OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Heather Stewart, Richard Hebda
Major Groups of Grasses
Table of Contents
Glossary

Hordeum
Barley

This genus includes the cultivated barley plant Hordeum vulgare, but it also contains many weedy species. Six species of Hordeum occur in British Columbia. Two of these grow in the Columbia Basin region, Hordeum brachyantherum and Hordeum jubatum. They are of some importance as forage grasses but are also a nuisance to livestock because of their long awns.

Hordeum Adapted from Douglas et al. 1994

1a. Flowerhead including awns nearly as wide as it is long ...........................................Hordeum jubatum

1b. Flowerhead including awns is much longer than broad.............................Hordeum brachyantherum

Hordeum brachyantherum Nevski
Meadow Barley

Plant: Hordeum brachyantherum is a native species that grows to 40-100 cm tall. It is a tufted perennial that bears a stiff, erect stem with a spike-shaped flowerhead.
Leaves and Stem: Sheaths are open. Leaf blades range from 2-9 mm wide. There are no auricles, and the ligules are scarcely 0.5 mm high and minutely hairy at the tip.
Flowerhead and Flowers: The relatively narrow, erect, terminal flowerhead is 5-10 cm long. It shatters easily when ripe. There are usually two to three spikelets per node of the flowerhead, each spikelet usually with one flower. The central spikelets are attached directly to the stem, while the other two are on short, curved stalks. The two glumes are 7-12 mm long and are so narrow they look like awns. The lemma of the central flower extends into a long awn. The lateral flowers may be modified into awnlike structures.
Habitat: Meadow Barley usually grows in moist meadows and possibly at the edge of marshes or streams along forest openings. In the Columbia Basin it occurs at Nelson and Nakusp.
Similar Species: You may encounter Cultivated Barley (Hordeum vulgare) in fields, pastures and around livestock. It rarely persists for more than a year, being unable to invade "natural" or even disturbed habitats. Common Barley is like Meadow Barley, except that it has well-developed auricles (>1mm), whereas Meadow Barley and Fox-tail Barley (Hordeum jubatum) have no auricles.

Hordeum jubatum L.
Fox-tail
Fox-tail Barley

Plant: Hordeum jubatum is a native species that grows to 20-50 cm tall. It has a showy, silvery to reddish, soft, whisk-shaped and nodding flowerhead (like a fox's tail).
Leaves and Stem: Stems are smooth to soft hairy. Sheaths are open nearly to the node below. Flat leaf blades range from 2-5 mm wide and up to 18+ cm long. 0.5-mm-long auricles occur on some leaves. Ligules range from 0.2-0.6 mm long, and form a frilled collar of even height.
Flowerhead and Flowers: The flowerhead is 5-10 cm long (including the awns) and whisklike. There are three spikelets per node, of which the central one is usually the largest. Spikelets are attached directly to the central stalk, not by a pedicel like many other grasses. The spikelets are arranged in rows, one above the next on the central axis. Spikelets are generally one-flowered. There are two, narrow, equal, 2-6-cm-long glumes that look like awns, and are as long or nearly as long as the spikelet. The lemma has a long awn nearly as long as that of the glumes. The 2-6-cm-long purplish awns are distinctive. Awns and glumes are lined with minute, rough teeth that you can easily feel if you push your fingers down along the awns.
Habitat: Foxtail Barley grows at all elevations except in the alpine zone. It is common along roadsides, in moist meadows and along lakeshores. It tolerates alkaline or brackish soils, and it favours disturbed sites in urban and suburban settings. Most people are surprised to hear this species described as a native grass. It is described as circumpolar and weedy.
Similar Species: The distinctive whisk-shaped flowerhead is unmistakable. The flowerhead of Meadow Barley is long, narrow and not whisklike or drooping.

Living Landscapes

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