Foxtail barley

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Foxtail barley

Foxtail barley

Foxtail barley

Foxtail barley

Morphology

Culm

Erect or bent abruptly upward at bases, slender, hollow, glabrous, nodes dark.

Blades

Flat, 1 to 5 inches long, to 1/4 inch wide, rough, tapered to sharp points.

Sheath

Loose, shorter than internodes, glabrous or lightly hairy.

Ligule

Membranous, irregularly notched.

Inflorescence

Spikes, conspicuously nodding, 2 to 5 inches long, about as wide, soft, greenish or purplish.

Spikelets

3 per node; central spikelet 1-flowered, fertile, sessile; lateral spikelets sterile, short-stalked; glumes awn-like, 1 to 2.75 inch long; lemmas to 1/3 inch long; central spikelet lemmas with awns 1 to 2.5 inches long; lateral spikelet lemmas short-awned.

Ecology

Habitat

Ditches, pastures, seep areas, waste ground, and roadsides.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Forage Value

Foxtail barley is palatable when young but is poor forage for livestock.

Uses

Native American children sometimes placed inflorescences of foxtail barley in the clothing of playmates as a joke.

Additional Notes