Sonoran Desert Naturalist >>> Field Guide >>> Sonoran Desert Flora >>> Poaceae >>> Hordeum jubatum
Foxtail Barley
Hordeum jubatum
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Scanned from specimens collected in Phoenix, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA. 9 February 2003.
ANNUAL HERB:
Weedy grass normally restricted to fence rows, ditch banks and roadsides. Under
some conditions foxtail barley may grow as a perennial, surviving year-to-year.
LEAVES: About 3 to 5 mm wide.
STEMS/CULMS: Rarely taller than a half meter.
FLOWERS: Spikes are 6 to 12 cm tall and about 0.7 cm in diameter. Long
green awns crowd the spikelets - shown enlarged below. Blooms in early to mid
spring.
RANGE: In the Sonoran Desert it is found wherever there is suitable
moisture, especially areas impacted by man and getting irrigation water.
Occasionally found along rivers and washes,