Hordeum is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family. The species are native throughout the temperate regions of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas.
Taxonomy
Species Species include:Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution mapsThe Plant List search for Hordeum
Hordeum aegiceras – Mongolia, China including Tibet Hordeum arizonicum US (CA AZ NV NM), Mexico (Baja California, Sonora, Durango) Hordeum bogdanii – from Turkey and European Russia to Mongolia Hordeum brachyantherum – Russia (Kuril, Kamchatka), Alaska, Canada including Yukon, US (mostly in the West but also scattered locales in the East), Baja California Hordeum brachyatherum – Chile Hordeum brevisubulatum – European Russia; temperate and subarctic Asia from Turkey and the Urals to China and Magadan Hordeum bulbosum – Mediterranean, Central Asia Hordeum californicum – US (CA; OR; NV) Hordeum capense – South Africa, Lesotho Hordeum chilense – Argentina, Chile (including Juan Fernández Is) Hordeum comosum – Argentina, Chile Hordeum cordobense – northern Argentina Hordeum depressum – US (CA; OR; WA; ID; NV), British Columbia, Baja California Hordeum distichon – Iraq Hordeum erectifolium – northern Argentina Hordeum euclaston – Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina Hordeum flexuosum – Uruguay, Argentina Hordeum fuegianum – Tierra del Fuego Hordeum guatemalense – Guatemala Hordeum halophilum – Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru Hordeum intercedens (bobtail barley) – California, Baja California Hordeum jubatum (foxtail barley) – widespread in US and Canada; Asiatic Russia, Inner Mongolia, Central Asia, Caucasus Hordeum × lagunculciforme – Iraq, Turkmenistan, Himalayas, western China Hordeum lechleri – Argentina, Chile Hordeum marinum (sea barley) – Europe, North Africa, southwestern and central Asia Hordeum murinum (wall barley) – Canary Islands, Europe, North Africa, southwestern and central Asia Hordeum muticum – Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru Hordeum parodii – Argentina Hordeum patagonicum – Argentina, Chile Hordeum × pavisii – France Hordeum procerum – Argentina Hordeum pubiflorum – Argentina, Chile Hordeum pusillum (little barley) – widespread in Canada and US; northern Mexico, Bermuda, Argentina Hordeum roshevitzii – China, Korea, Primorye, Mongolia, Siberia, Kazakhstan Hordeum secalinum – Europe, Mediterranean, Caucasus Hordeum spontaneum – from Greece and Egypt to central China Hordeum stenostachys – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa Hordeum tetraploidum – Argentina, Chile Hordeum vulgare (barley) – native to the Middle East, now cultivated in many countries
Formerly included species Botanists now regard many species as better suited to other genera: Arrhenatherum, Crithopsis, Dasypyrum, Elymus, Eremopyrum, Hordelymus, Leymus, Psathyrostachys, and Taeniatherum.
Etymology The name Hordeum comes from the Latin word for "to bristle" (horreō, horrēre), and is akin to the word "horror".
Distribution The species are native throughout the temperate regions of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas.Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 395 大麦属 da mai shu Hordeum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 84. 1753. Flora of PakistanAltervista Flora Italiana genere Hordeum includes photos + distribution maps of several species
Ecology Hordeum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the flame, rustic shoulder-knot and setaceous Hebrew character.
Some species have become weeds introduced worldwide by human activities, others have become endangered due to habitat loss.
Uses One species, H. vulgare (barley), has become of major commercial importance as a cereal grain, used as fodder crop and for malting in the production of beer and whiskey.
References
External links
species of Hordeum in "Wildflowers of Israel": Spntaneous Barley, Bulbous Barley, Wall Barley, Hordeum marinum, Hordeum hystrix, Hordeum vulgare