Hordeum brachyantherum

Common Names

Meadow Barley, Barley, Northern Barley, Knotted Barley Grass, California Barley, Little Barley, Orge A Antheres Courtes, Orge Des Pres, شعير قصيرالأسدية, Idänohra

Summary

Hordeum brachyantherum, meadow barley, is a native perennial bunchgrass of the Poaceae that forms open to dense tufts with culms typically 40–105 cm tall; blades reach up to 19 cm long and 8 mm wide, with glabrous to pubescent sheaths and no auricles. The inflorescence is a bristly, green to purple spike 3–10 cm long; central spikelets are bisexual with glumes 9–19 mm and lemmas 5.5–10 mm, awns 3.5–14 mm, while lateral spikelets are staminate with glumes 7–19 mm and awns up to 14 mm. It has chromosome counts of 2n = 14, 28, or 42, and two subspecies are recognized. Native to Kamchatka Peninsula and western North America, from Alaska to California and east to the Rocky Mountains, it occupies habitats ranging from salt marshes and pastures to woodlands and subalpine meadows.

In cultivation meadow barley is a cool-season grass suited for meadow planting, erosion control, and habitat restoration; it tolerates a wide range of soils, including moist, saline, and heavy clay, and prefers full sun with adequate moisture. Propagation is by seed with no special treatment required; seeds are readily collected and can establish quickly, making it useful in restoration seed mixtures for wetlands, tidal marshes, meadows, and riparian zones, while providing wildlife habitat through its bristly seed heads. Management varies with grazing pressure and site conditions, and health is enhanced by grouping plants in mass plantings or blends with other native grasses.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

8-37.5 inches

Spread

12-24 inches

Hardiness Zones

Zones 4-10

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally full Sun, tolerates Partial Shade.

Soil Type

No single ideal soil; tolerates a variety of moist to wet soils, including bottomlands, meadows, edges of streams, tidal marshes, and soils that are saline, alkaline, or heavy clay.

Soil Drainage

Wet, poorly drained to saturated soils.

Soil pH

5.0-8.1, tolerates a wide range of soil pH, acidic to alkaline soils are all suitable

Bloom Color

Green to purple

Bloom Time

Spring to Summer

Foliage Color

Green to bluish-green (apple green)

Fall Foliage Color

Green to bluish green, Yellow, Purple

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous

Growth Rate

Fast

Seasons of Interest

Spring and Summer

Propagation Methods

Seeds

Attracts Wildlife

Wind-pollinated; no indication of attracting bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, other pollinators, or birds.