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Hordeum murinum

wall barley

Western Eurasia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean

WaterLow

Overview

Hordeum murinum is a tufted winter annual grass reaching 4-18 inches (10-45 cm) tall, occasionally to 24 inches (60 cm) in rich soil. Stems are slender and erect to spreading at the base, forming loose clumps. Leaf blades are flat, 1-5 inches (2.5-13 cm) long and up to 0.3 inch (8 mm) wide, with a thin fringed ligule and clasping auricles. Dense bristly flower spikes, 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) long, appear from April through June; each spikelet bears long rough awns 0.4-1.2 inches (1-3 cm) long that turn straw-colored at maturity. The spike breaks apart into barbed segments that cling to fur and clothing and carry the seed away. Plants finish their life cycle by early summer and dry to tan. The barbed awns can lodge in the eyes, mouths, and ears of grazing animals and pets, causing injury. Germination follows fall and winter rains, and a single plant produces several hundred seeds. Dry summer stems become a fire fuel in grasslands.

Native Range

Native to western Eurasia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean basin. Naturalized widely in temperate and Mediterranean regions worldwide, including much of North America, where it grows in disturbed ground, roadsides, pastures, and waste places below 5,000 feet (1,500 m).

Suggested Uses

Not cultivated ornamentally; it occurs as a volunteer weed of disturbed sites. Occasionally grazed by livestock when young, before the awns harden. It has no managed garden use and is treated as a weed in most settings.

How to Identify

Recognized by dense, flattened bristly spikes 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) long with three spikelets at each node and long rough awns. Distinguished from cultivated barley Hordeum vulgare by its smaller stature and spikes that shatter at maturity. Leaf bases bear clasping auricles, and the whole spike detaches as barbed units.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height4" - 1'6"

Width/Spread2" - 6"

Colors

Flower Colors

green

Foliage Colors

green

Fall Foliage Colors

no change

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~8 weeks

Spring Summer

Flowers from April through June, with timing shifting earlier in warm winters and later at higher elevations. The wind-pollinated spikes shed pollen over 2-3 weeks. Seed matures and the spike begins shattering within a few weeks of flowering.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

greenish, aging to straw

Foliage Description

green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun

Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.5 - 8.0(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

clay loam sand rocky

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Low

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Grows as a self-sowing winter annual in full sun on a wide range of soils, from sand to clay. Seedlings emerge after autumn rain and grow through winter, flowering as soils warm. No supplemental water or fertilizer is needed; plants tolerate poor, compacted ground. In gardens and pastures it spreads quickly from seed and is managed by removing plants before the awns harden. Mowing after flowering does not prevent seed set once spikes have formed. Dry summer plants raise fire risk in grasslands.

Pruning

Not pruned in the ornamental sense. Removing the spikes before the awns mature limits self-seeding and reduces the barbed seed units that disperse into fur and clothing. Cut or grazed plants regrow little once flowering has begun.