"Growing Online"tm

 

 

   

Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Graminoid
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator	FAC, FACW
Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring and Summer
After Harvest Regrowth Rate	Slow
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	Medium
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	No
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	Yellow
Flower Conspicuous	No
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Moderate
Foliage Porosity Winter	Porous
Foliage Texture	Medium
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	No
Growth Form	Bunch
Growth Rate	Moderate
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)
Height, Mature (feet)	2
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Moderate
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	No
Shape and Orientation	Semi-Erect
Toxicity	None
Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	High
CaCO3 Tolerance	Medium
Cold Stratification Required	No
Drought Tolerance	Medium
Fertility Requirement	Low
Fire Tolerance	High
Frost Free Days, Minimum	100
Hedge Tolerance	None
Moisture Use	Medium
pH, Minimum	6
pH, Maximum	8.5
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum
Precipitation, Minimum	20
Precipitation, Maximum	80
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	6
Salinity Tolerance	Medium
Shade Tolerance	Intolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-43
Reproduction
Bloom Period	Early Summer
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	Medium
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Fall
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	No
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	No
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	30000
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
Seedling Vigor	Medium
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None
Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	No
Palatable Browse Animal	Low
Palatable Graze Animal	Low
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Low
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

 

Kingdom  Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom  Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision  Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division  Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class  Liliopsida -- Monocotyledons

Subclass  Commelinidae

Order  Cyperales

Family  Poaceae -- Grass family

Genus  Hordeum L. -- barley P

Species  Hordeum brachyantherum Nevski -- meadow barley P

 

Alternate Names

There are two subspecies: H. brachyantherum ssp. brachyantherum and ssp. californicum, the latter referred to as California barley.  Another name is little barley.  This species can hybridize with certain Hordeum and Elymus (wildrye) species.

 

Uses

Because of its high seedling vigor, wide soil tolerances, and rapid development, meadow barley is often used as a quick cover for soil stabilization on wet, dry, and saline sites.  It is sometimes used for forage where locally abundant, but resource value may be rated low to moderate for livestock.  The value for deer is considered high in spring.  Palatability for ungulates is moderately good early on but poor at maturity.  Sown at lower rates to allow other species to establish, meadow barley is an important component of freshwater wetland, tidal marsh, meadow, and riparian seed mixtures for restoration and revegetation.  In certain trials, meadow barley has shown higher potential to impede the progress of reed canarygrass compared to several other native wetland grasses.  It is regarded useful as a temporary nurse crop for longer lived species on dry, infertile sites.  The species is occasionally used as a vineyard cover crop in California. Plants provide wildlife cover and the leaves and large seed may be of some value to small mammals and waterfowl.

 

Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

 

Description and Adaptation

Meadow barley is a native, short to medium lived, cool season, perennial bunchgrass.  This species occurs primarily from Alaska to California and east to the Rocky Mountains.  It can also be found sporadically in other states.  Growth habit is an open tuft with erect to slightly spreading, smooth stalks (culms) that are 40 to 105 cm tall.  The flowerhead (panicle) is a narrow, flattened spike, 5 to 10 cm long with bristle-like awns and a brittle central axis (rachis) that breaks off in pieces from the top down at maturity.  Leaves are green to bluish green, 2 to 9 mm wide.  They may be primarily basal or extend up and down the stem.

 

Key to identification: The flower heads are bristly and often purplish in color, becoming stubby at maturity which distinguishes it from timothy (Phleum pretense), meadow foxtail (Alopecuris pratensis), or other grasses with narrow spikes.  It resembles common barley (Hordeum vulgare) which is an annual usually confined to cultivated areas.  Meadow barley is upright, while its closest relative, California barley, is shorter and more spreading.

 

Relative abundance in the wild: Meadow barley is common to sporadic in moist meadows and clearings. It is most abundant in maritime environments.  Seed shatters (drops) readily requiring careful monitoring of maturity and multiple collections.

 

Adaptation: Meadow barley is moderately drought tolerant but best adapted to moist soils, including bottom lands, depressions, meadows, the edges of streams and salt marshes, forest clearings, and ocean beaches from sea level to subalpine elevations.  It is tolerant to moderately alkaline and saline conditions, as well as low fertility, seasonally saturated soils, and intermittent flooding.  Soil texture can vary from coarse sand to clay. This species prefers full sun.  This species can produce a seed crop the first year if sown in late fall or early spring.  This is among the more broadly adapted and easier to establish of all native grasses in the western US.

 

Establishment

There is usually no seed dormancy and meadow barley is easy to establish by sowing in the fall or early spring. The awns and nonviable florets (flower structures) attached to each spikelet should be removed to reduce bulk and allow for seed to flow through planting equipment.  The number of seeds per pound can vary widely, depending on the degree of seed conditioning.  Bulky seed can range from 30,000 to 100,000 seeds/lb, while highly processed seed will have approximately 150,000 seeds/lb (+/- 30%).  The latter will result in 3 to 4 seeds per square foot for each lb applied per acre.  Suggested seeding rates vary from 8 to 40 lbs/ac when sown alone, depending on seed size, methods, site conditions, and purpose of planting. 

 

Management

Meadow barley can be an increaser or decreaser under heavy grazing, depending on the palatability of other plants present. Forage value is moderately good early on but poor at maturity.

 

Livestock are likely to cause soil compaction on moist sites with fine textured soils where this species often thrives.  Short-lived especially under drier conditions, regeneration may rely on a period of deferred grazing during flowering and seed set every few years. The species is easily eliminated by close mowing early in the growing season.  It stays green all summer if moisture is present and is capable of producing a second flush of seed heads later in summer.  Tolerance to prescribed burning is high.  Specific management practices apply to cover crop use, particularly in vineyards. Under cultivation for seed, several harvests may be required to capture seed that matures unevenly and shatters easily.

 

Environmental Concerns

Awns on the spikelets readily attach to hair and skin. Apparently they can harm certain animals by working into noses, mouths, or intestines. Others indicate little injury to livestock or deer that graze the foliage.  Certain meadow barley populations are susceptible to fungal diseases, particularly head smut and leaf or stem rust.  Fungicides may be needed for control. Consult with your local Extension Service agent, plant disease control handbook, or other experts for advice.  The species has potential to be weedy under certain conditions and is listed as a weed in cotton.

 

Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Multiple sources of seed are readily available in California, as are several in Oregon. A limited number of seed sources from other regions are also available for use in certain western states.

 

Prepared By:

Dale Darris, USDA NRCS Plant Materials Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

 

Species Coordinator:

Dale Darris, USDA NRCS Plant Materials Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

 

Edited: 21mar2006 jsp

 

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

 

 

 

Attribution:  U.S. Department of Agriculture