Hordeum
(the ancient Latin name). Barley. ORD. Gramineae. A genus comprising about twelve species of valuable erect annual (or rarely perennial) grasses, natives of Europe, Northern Africa, temperate Asia, and extra-tropical America. Spikelets in threes, arranged on opposite sides of the rachis, hence forming a bilateral spike. Barley is, next to Wheat, the most important grain raised in this country. It is principally employed in the manufacture of fermented liquors and spirits. Tradition traces its culture back to remote antiquity, the Egyptians supposing it to be the first cerealea utilised by man. The principal species are: H. distichon, Long-eared Barley; H. hexastichon, Winter, or Square Barley; H. vulgare, Spring Barley; and H. zeocriton, the Sprat or Battledore Barley, a cultivated form of H. distichon. Probably the best species for horticultural purposes is H. jubatum, which thrives in any ordinary soil. Very little moisture is required. Seeds may be sown in the open ground.
H. jubatum (bearded).* Squirrel-tail Grass. fl., lateral ones abortive, on a short pedicel, short-awned; perfect flower bearing a capillary awn, 2in. long, all spreading. June. h. 2ft. North America, 1782.