common barley
Family
PoaceaeScientific Name
Hordeum vulgareSynonyms (former Scientific Names):
Hordeum irregulare
Hordeum distichon
Hordeum vulgare var. trifurcatum
Hordeum hexastichon
Hordeum vulgare ssp. hexastichon
Hordeum hexastichum
Hordeum aegiceras
Hordeum sativum
Habit
Barley is an upright, winter annual that can reach up to 4 feet tall.
Leaves
Leaves for common barley are flat, oftentimes hairless, and tend to curl in a clockwise. They are thin, usually less than half an inch thick. Ligules are membranous and around a tenth of an inch tall. Barley also has large clasping auricles.
Identifying Characteristics
Barley is recognizable for it's large membranous ligule in relation to its size, long, clasping auricles, and the clockwise twist in the leaf blades.
Flower Seed Head
Barley seed heads are an erect spike which can have awns. The spike is approximately 1-3 inches tall, not including the awns. Barley will either have 4 or 6 rows of seeds on the inflorescence.
Seed Fruit
Barley grains are a caryopsis, a single dry grain, that is tan in color.
Where Found
Barley is cultivated for grain but it can also be a weed in fields and on roadsides and other noncrop land.
Leaf Hair on Upper Surface
Varies:
no hairs,
hairs on basal half only
Leaf Arrangement
rolled in bud
Mature Leaf Width
Varies:
less than 5 mm,
6 to 15 mm
Stem
flat or oval
Seedhead
spike
Root Structure
fibrous
Life Cycle
winter annual
Auricle
present
Ligule
membrane
Ligule Length
Varies:
1-2 mm,
2-3 mm
Plant Type
Grass