Practical
Plants

Hordeum bulbosum

Bulbous Barley

a perennial member of the Hordeum genus in the family Gramineae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Gramineae
Genus
Hordeum
Life cycle
perennial
Height
1.2 m
Fertility
Wind
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Wind

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - cooked[1][5][6]. The seed can be ground into a flour and used as a cereal in making bread, porridge etc. Root - chewed or occasionally eaten[1][5][6].

Plant part
Root
Plant part
Seed

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The stems, after the seed has been harvested, have many uses. They are a source of fibres for making paper, a biomass for fuel etc, they can be shredded and used as a mulch[2][4].

Product or use
Biomass
Product or use
Fibre
Product or use
Mulch
Product or use
Paper

Environment

Range
S. Europe - Mediterranean.
Habitat
Dry grassland[7].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow in situ in March or October and only just cover the seed. Make sure the soil surface does not dry out if the weather is dry. Germination takes place within 2 weeks.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Succeeds in most soils[4]. Easily grown in light soils[3]. This plant is currently (1992) being tested for its potential as a perennial grain in N. America[6].

References

  1. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  2. Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading 1986-00-00 ISBN 0704909820

    ↩

  3. Grounds. R. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-7470-1219-9

    ↩

  4. Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  5. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩1↩2

  6. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2↩3

  7. ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964-00-00

    ↩

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