''Hordeum'' is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the

grass family Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

. They are native throughout the temperate regions of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

, and the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. One species, ''Hordeum vulgare'' (

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

), has become of major commercial importance as a

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

grain, used as fodder crop and for

malting Malting is the process of steeping, germinating and drying grain to convert it into malt. The malt is mainly used for brewing or whisky making, but can also be used to make malt vinegar or malt extract. Various grains are used for malting, most ...

in the production of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

and

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...

. Some species are nuisance

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

s introduced worldwide by human activities, others have become endangered due to habitat loss. ''Hordeum'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species, including the flame,

rustic shoulder-knot ''Apamea sordens'', the rustic shoulder-knot or bordered apamea, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is distributed throughout Europe, east across the Palearctic to Central ...

and

setaceous Hebrew character The setaceous Hebrew character (''Xestia c-nigrum'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found in the Palearctic realm. It is a common specie ...

. The name ''

Hordeum ''Hordeum'' is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family. They are native throughout the temperate regions of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas. One species, ''Hordeum vulgare'' (barley), has become of major commercial importan ...

'' comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word for "to bristle" (''horreō'', ''horrēre''), and is akin to the word " horror".

Species

Species include: * ''

Hordeum aegiceras ''Hordeum'' is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family. They are native throughout the temperate regions of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas. One species, ''Hordeum vulgare'' (barley), has become of major commercial importan ...

'' – Mongolia, China including Tibet * ''

Hordeum arizonicum ''Hordeum arizonicum'' is a species of wild barley known by the common name Arizona barley. It is native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, where it grows in wet spots in desert regions, such as irrigation ditches. It can gro ...

'' US (CA AZ NV NM), Mexico (Baja California, Sonora, Durango) * ''

Hordeum bogdanii ''Hordeum'' is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family. They are native throughout the temperate regions of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas. One species, ''Hordeum vulgare'' (barley), has become of major commercial importan ...

'' – from Turkey and European Russia to Mongolia * ''

Hordeum brachyantherum ''Hordeum brachyantherum'', known by the common name meadow barley, is a species of barley. It is native to western North America from Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''A ...

'' – Russia (Kuril, Kamchatka), Alaska, Canada including Yukon, US (mostly in the West but also scattered locales in the East), Baja California * ''

Hordeum brachyatherum ''Hordeum'' is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family. They are native throughout the temperate regions of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas. One species, ''Hordeum vulgare'' (barley), has become of major commercial importanc ...

'' – Chile * ''

Hordeum brevisubulatum ''Hordeum brevisubulatum'' is a widespread species of wild barley ''Hordeum spontaneum'', commonly known as wild barley or spontaneous barley, is the wild form of the grass in the family Poaceae that gave rise to the cereal barley (''Hordeum ...

'' – European Russia; temperate and subarctic Asia from Turkey and the Urals to China and Magadan * ''

Hordeum bulbosum ''Hordeum bulbosum'', bulbous barley, is a species of barley native to southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and as far east as Afghanistan, with a few naturalized populations in North America, South America and Australia. Since 1970 ...

'' – Mediterranean, Central Asia * ''

Hordeum californicum ''Hordeum'' is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family. They are native throughout the temperate regions of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas. One species, ''Hordeum vulgare'' (barley), has become of major commercial importanc ...

'' – US (CA; OR; NV) * ''

Hordeum capense ''Hordeum capense'' is a species of wild barley ''Hordeum spontaneum'', commonly known as wild barley or spontaneous barley, is the wild form of the grass in the family Poaceae that gave rise to the cereal barley (''Hordeum vulgare''). Domes ...

'' – South Africa, Lesotho * ''

Hordeum chilense ''Hordeum chilense'' is a species of wild barley native to Chile and Argentina. A diploid, it is used or being explored for use in barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate ...

'' – Argentina, Chile (including Juan Fernández Is) * ''

Hordeum comosum ''Hordeum comosum'' is a species of wild barley in the family Poaceae. It is native to Chile and western and southern Argentina, and has been introduced to the Falkland Islands. A widespread perennial grass, it is an important forage Forage is ...

'' – Argentina, Chile * '' Hordeum cordobense'' – northern Argentina * '' Hordeum depressum'' – US (CA; OR; WA; ID; NV), British Columbia, Baja California * ''

Hordeum distichon ''Hordeum distichon'', the common barley or two-rowed barley, is a cultigen of barley, family Poaceae. It is native to Iraq, and is widely grown throughout temperate regions of the world. Some authorities consider it a subspecies of six-rowed bar ...

'' – Iraq * '' Hordeum erectifolium'' – northern Argentina * '' Hordeum euclaston'' – Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina * '' Hordeum flexuosum'' – Uruguay, Argentina * '' Hordeum fuegianum'' – Tierra del Fuego * '' Hordeum guatemalense'' – Guatemala * '' Hordeum halophilum'' – Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru * '' Hordeum intercedens'' (bobtail barley) – California, Baja California * ''

Hordeum jubatum ''Hordeum jubatum'', with common names foxtail barley, bobtail barley, squirreltail barley, and intermediate barley, is a perennial plant species in the grass family Poaceae. It occurs wild mainly in northern North America and adjacent northeast ...

'' (foxtail barley) – widespread in US and Canada; Asiatic Russia, Inner Mongolia, Central Asia, Caucasus * '' Hordeum × lagunculciforme'' – Iraq, Turkmenistan, Himalayas, western China * '' Hordeum lechleri'' – Argentina, Chile * '' Hordeum marinum'' (sea barley) – Europe, North Africa, southwestern and central Asia * ''

Hordeum murinum ''Hordeum murinum'', commonly known as wall barley or false barley, is a species of grass. Overview ''Hordeum murinum'' is quite widespread and common. It flowers during May through July in mainly coastal areas. In the British Isles it is absent ...

'' (wall barley) – Canary Islands, Europe, North Africa, southwestern and central Asia * '' Hordeum muticum'' – Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru * ''

Hordeum parodii ''Hordeum parodii'' is a species of barley native to Argentina, where it can be found in inland wetlands, coastal and supratidal lands. ''H. parodii'' is a small annual grass forming petite patches of thin, hairy leaves and erect stems to about 1 ...

'' – Argentina * '' Hordeum patagonicum'' – Argentina, Chile * '' Hordeum × pavisii'' – France * '' Hordeum procerum'' – Argentina * '' Hordeum pubiflorum'' – Argentina, Chile * ''

Hordeum pusillum ''Hordeum pusillum'', also known as little barley, is an annual grass native to most of the United States and southwestern Canada. It arrived via multiple long-distance dispersals of a southern South American species of '' Hordeum'' about one mi ...

'' (little barley) – widespread in Canada and US; northern Mexico, Bermuda, Argentina * '' Hordeum roshevitzii'' – China, Korea, Primorye, Mongolia, Siberia, Kazakhstan * ''

Hordeum secalinum ''Hordeum secalinum'', false rye barley and meadow barley (a name it shares with ''Hordeum brachyantherum''), is a species of wild barley ''Hordeum spontaneum'', commonly known as wild barley or spontaneous barley, is the wild form of the gras ...

'' – Europe, Mediterranean, Caucasus * ''

Hordeum spontaneum ''Hordeum spontaneum'', commonly known as wild barley or spontaneous barley, is the wild form of the grass in the Family (biology), family Poaceae that gave rise to the cereal barley (''Hordeum vulgare''). Domestication is thought to have occurr ...

'' – from Greece and Egypt to central China * '' Hordeum stenostachys'' – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa * '' Hordeum tetraploidum'' – Argentina, Chile * ''

Hordeum vulgare Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

'' (barley) – native to the Middle East, now cultivated in many countries

Formerly included species

Botanists now regard many species as better suited to other genera: '' Arrhenatherum, Crithopsis, Dasypyrum, Elymus,

Eremopyrum ''Eremopyrum'' is a genus Eurasian and North African plants in the grass family. One species, '' Eremopyrum triticeum'' has become widely established as a weed in parts of North America. All the species are annuals with a dense, 2-sided, spike ...

, Hordelymus,

Leymus ''Leymus'' is a genus of plants in the grass family Poaceae (Gramineae). It is widespread across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. * ''Leymus aemulans'' - Xinjiang, Central Asia * ''Leymus ajanensis'' - Siberia, Russian Far East, Alaska * '' Ley ...

, Psathyrostachys,'' and '' Taeniatherum''.

References

* * * * * * *

External links

* species of Hordeum in "Wildflowers of Israel"
Spntaneous BarleyBulbous BarleyWall Barley Hordeum marinum

Hordeum hystrixHordeum vulgare
{{Taxonbar, from=Q518044 Poaceae genera