E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Hordeum vulgare L.
common barley
Poaceae (Grass family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Bryan Kelly-McArthur  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #81269)

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Distribution of Hordeum vulgare
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Species Information

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General:
Annual grass from fibrous roots; stems smooth, mostly 80-120 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths open, smooth; blades mostly (5) 10-15 mm wide; ear-shaped lobes at leaf-bases well-developed; ligules 0.5-1 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a stout spike; spikelets 3 to a node, unstalked, well-developed and fertile; glumes narrow, usually awned; lemmas awned, the awns 10-15 mm long, sometimes unawned but more or less prominently 3-lobed at the tips.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / Range

Dry roadsides and waste areas in the lowland and montane zones; rare in SW and SC BC; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Hordeum vulgare

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 968 968 968
Slope Gradient (%) 0 0 0
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
0
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
1 1 1
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
B
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
1
Modal BEC Zone Class
ICH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: ICH(1)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Hordeum aegiceras Nees ex Royle
Hordeum distichon L.
Hordeum hexastichon L.
Hordeum hexastichum L. [orthographic variant]
Hordeum irregulare Aberg & Wiebe
Hordeum sativum Pers.
Hordeum vulgare subsp. hexastichon (L.) Bonnier & Layens
Hordeum vulgare var. trifurcatum (Schlecht.) Alef.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References