Overview
Hordeum pusillum is a small cool-season annual grass found across much of North America in fields, roadsides, and disturbed open ground. Plants form slender tufts 4-16 inches (10-40 cm) tall, with narrow light-green blades 1-4 inches (2.5-10 cm) long that dry to straw as the season warms. From April through June each stem produces a dense, bristly flower spike 1-3 inches (2.5-8 cm) long, the spikelets tipped with stiff awns up to 0.7 inch (18 mm) that give the seed head a brush-like outline. It germinates in fall or early spring, flowers quickly, sets seed, and dies by early summer, completing its life cycle before the dry season. The shallow fibrous roots and short stature let it colonize compacted, low-fertility soils where taller grasses are slow to establish. Seeds spread readily on fur, clothing, and machinery, and the awned seed heads can lodge in the mouths of grazing animals, limiting its forage value. As a winter annual it supplies early-season ground cover and seed for small birds but adds little structure once it cures. Its weedy persistence in croplands and lawns makes it more often managed than planted.
Native Range
Hordeum pusillum is native to North America, ranging from southern Canada through the United States into Mexico. It grows in open, disturbed habitats including prairies, fields, roadsides, and seasonally moist flats.Suggested Uses
Used as a winter annual cover on bare or disturbed ground and as early-season seed for small birds. Occasionally included in native restoration seed mixes for quick first-year cover. The awned seed heads and weedy spread leave it unsuited to lawns and grazed pasture.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height4" - 1'4"
Width/Spread2" - 6"
Bloom Information
Flower spikes appear from April through June, earlier in the south. The green to tan spikelets are wind-pollinated and mature within a few weeks. Seed heads shatter as they dry, dispersing awned seeds, and the plant is dead by midsummer.
Detailed Descriptions
Flower Description
green to tanFoliage Description
light green, drying to strawGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
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
Water & Climate
Water Needs
Drought Tolerance
Drought tolerant when established
Care & Maintenance
Care Guide
Grows in full sun on a wide range of soils, from clay to sand, including compacted and low-fertility ground. Needs little water and completes growth on winter and spring moisture alone. Soil pH from 6.0 to 8.0 suits it. As a self-seeding annual it requires no feeding or irrigation and reappears from seed each year where bare soil is available. In lawns and crop fields it spreads quickly and is usually controlled rather than encouraged. It dies back naturally by early summer.Pruning
No pruning is needed for this annual grass. Mowing before the seed heads ripen reduces self-seeding in unwanted areas. Spent plants can be raked out once they dry in early summer.✓ Toxicity
Non-toxicPlanting Guide
Planting Methods & Timing
Planting Method
direct sow
Plant Spacing
4 inches