Common Name

Barley Grass, Northern Barley Grass

Family

Poaceae

Notes

Introduced annual grass to 60cm tall. Leaves with a hairless sheath at the base. Ligule a membrane without a fringe of hairs. Leaves 2-20cm long, 2-8mm wide, flat, slightly hairy, rough, with smooth edges and a straight point. Spikelets green,7-12 mm long excluding the awns. Mature seed groups cylindrical. Seeds with one awn, in threes.

Differs from Hordeum marinum in that the junction of the leaf sheath and blade has definite lobes. Differs from Hordeum leporinum in that the anthers of the central spikelet are 0.2-0.5mm long, usually black, and not extending beyond rest of the spikelet (needs a microscope to tell).

Description in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 110

PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Hordeum~glaucum

ausgrass2 description: http://ausgrass2.myspecies.info/content/hordeum-glaucum