Hordeum

Hordeum
Hordeum vulgare f. distichon
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Supertribe: Triticodae
Tribe: Triticeae
Genus: Hordeum
L.[1]
Type species
Hordeum vulgare
Synonyms[4]
  • Critesion Raf.
  • Critho E.Mey.
  • Zeocriton Wolf

Hordeum is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family. They are native throughout the temperate regions of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas.[5][6][7][8][9]

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. Some species have become weeds introduced worldwide by human activities, others have become endangered due to habitat loss.

Hordeum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the flame, rustic shoulder-knot and setaceous Hebrew character.

The name Hordeum comes from the Latin word for "to bristle" (horreō, horrēre),[10] and is akin to the word "horror".

  1. ^ Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 84–85
  2. ^ lectotype designated by Bowden, Wray M. (1959). "The Taxonomy and Nomenclature of the Wheats, Barleys, and Ryes and Their Wild Relatives". Canadian Journal of Botany. 37 (4): 657–684. doi:10.1139/b59-053.
  3. ^ Tropicos, Hordeum L.
  4. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  5. ^ Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 395 大麦属 da mai shu Hordeum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 84. 1753.
  6. ^ Flora of Pakistan
  7. ^ Altervista Flora Italiana genere Hordeum includes photos + distribution maps of several species
  8. ^ Cabi, E.; Doğan, M. (2012). "Poaceae". In A. Güner; S. Aslan; T. Ekim; M. Vural; M. T. Babaç (eds.). Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi. Istanbul: Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. pp. 690–756.
  9. ^ Pohl, R. W.; Davidse, G. (1994). "60. Hordeum L.". In G. Davidse; M. Sousa Sánchez; A. O. Chater (eds.). Alismataceae a Cyperaceae. Flora Mesoamericana. Vol. 6. México, D. F.: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. p. 247.
  10. ^ "hordeum noun". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 13 January 2024.