Hordeum
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:Hordeum aegiceras – Mongolia, China including TibetHordeum arizonicum US, Mexico Hordeum bogdanii – from Turkey and European Russia to MongoliaHordeum brachyantherum – Russia, Alaska, Canada including Yukon, US, Baja CaliforniaHordeum brachyatherum – ChileHordeum brevisubulatum – European Russia; temperate and subarctic Asia from Turkey and the Urals to China and MagadanHordeum bulbosum – Mediterranean, Central Asia Hordeum californicum – US Hordeum capense – South Africa, LesothoHordeum chilense – Argentina, Chile Hordeum comosum – Argentina, ChileHordeum cordobense – northern ArgentinaHordeum depressum – US, British Columbia, Baja CaliforniaHordeum distichon – IraqHordeum erectifolium – northern ArgentinaHordeum euclaston – Brazil, Uruguay, ArgentinaHordeum flexuosum – Uruguay, ArgentinaHordeum fuegianum – Tierra del FuegoHordeum guatemalense – GuatemalaHordeum halophilum – Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, PeruHordeum intercedens – California, Baja CaliforniaHordeum jubatum – widespread in US and Canada; Asiatic Russia, Inner Mongolia, Central Asia, CaucasusHordeum × lagunculciforme – Iraq, Turkmenistan, Himalayas, western ChinaHordeum lechleri – Argentina, ChileHordeum marinum – Europe, North Africa, southwestern and central AsiaHordeum murinum – Canary Islands, Europe, North Africa, southwestern and central AsiaHordeum muticum – Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, PeruHordeum parodii – ArgentinaHordeum patagonicum – Argentina, ChileHordeum × pavisii – FranceHordeum procerum – ArgentinaHordeum pubiflorum – Argentina, ChileHordeum pusillum – widespread in Canada and US; northern Mexico, Bermuda, ArgentinaHordeum roshevitzii – China, Korea, Primorye, Mongolia, Siberia, KazakhstanHordeum secalinum – Europe, Mediterranean, CaucasusHordeum spontaneum – from Greece and Egypt to central ChinaHordeum stenostachys – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, South AfricaHordeum tetraploidum – Argentina, ChileHordeum vulgare – native to the Middle East, now cultivated in many countriesFormerly 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", and is akin to the word "horror".Distribution
The species are native throughout the temperate regions of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas.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.