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Hordeum distichon

Common name:	Two-Rowed Barley	Family:	Gramineae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	50
Synonyms:	Hordeum vulgare distichon
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Of uncertain origin, possibly a hybrid between H. spontaneum and a 6-rowed barley[34].
Habitat:	Not known in the wild. Occurs as a relict of cultivation in Britain but it does not persist[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	H. aegiceras[B,G,P] H. agriocrithon[G] H. agriocrithon var. dawoense[G] H. coeleste var. trifurcatum[G] H. deficiens[G] H. deficiens var. nudideficians[G] H. deficiens var. steudelii[G] H. deficiens var. tridax[G] H. distichon var. abyssinicum[G] H. distichon var. erectum[G] H. distichon var. ianthinum[G] H. distichon var. nigricans[G] H. distichon var. nudideficiens[G] H. distichon var. nudum[G] H. distichon var. nutans[G] H. distichon var. palmella[G] H. distichon var. persicum[G] H. distichon var. tridax[G] H. hexastichon[G,P] H. hexastichum[B,P] H. irregulare[G,P] H. lagunculiforme[G] H. polystichon[G] H. polystichum var. trifurcatum[G] H. sativum[G,P] H. tetrastichum[G] H. tetrastichum var. aethiops[G] H. vulgare[B,DUTCH,ENERGY,E,G,L,P] H. vulgare subsp. deficiens[G] H. vulgare subsp. interjectum[G] H. vulgare subsp. intermedium[G] H. vulgare subsp. vulgare[G] H. vulgare var. aethiops[G] H. vulgare var. afghanicum[G] H. vulgare var. coeleste[G] H. vulgare var. coerulescens[G] H. vulgare var. cornutum[G] H. vulgare var. deficiens[G] H. vulgare var. duplinigrum[G] H. vulgare var. himalayense[G] H. vulgare var. horsfordianum[G] H. vulgare var. leiorrhynchum[G] H. vulgare var. nigricans[G] H. vulgare var. nigrum[G] H. vulgare var. nudum[G] H. vulgare var. pallidum[G] H. vulgare var. steudelii[G] H. vulgare var. tetrastichon[G] H. vulgare var. trifurcatum[B,G,P] H. vulgare var. violaceum[G] H. x intermedium[G] H. x intermedium var. cornutum[G] H. x intermedium var. haxtonii[G] H. x intermedium var. mortonii[G] H. x intermedium var. nudihaxtonii[G] H. zeocrithon[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Arpa [E], Barley [L,E,H], Cebada [E], Chevaliersgerst [D], Common Barley [P,B], Gerst [D], Jo [E], Kung Mai [E], Kung Mai Nieh [E], Mai Ya [E], No Mai [E], Orzo [E], Pearl Barley [H], Perlatum [H], Sha'Ir [E], Six-rowed Barley [L], Ta Mai [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Renamed to Poaceae -- Grass family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain(Wales) China Egypt India Iraq Italy Kurdistan Nepal Spain Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 1.2m. It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Coffee Salt Seed Sweetener.

Seed - cooked. The seed can be ground into a flour and used as a cereal in making bread, porridge etc[1, 4, 34, 46].
Malt is obtained by sprouting and roasting the seed, then boiling the seed. The resulting liquid is a sweet substance that is used in making beer and as a food[4, 46]. The longer the seed is roasted, the darker this liquid will be.
The roasted (unsprouted) seed is used as a coffee and a salt substitute[46].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Demulcent Nutritive.

Barley grain is an excellent food for convalescence, either in the form of porridge or as a decoction of the seed. It is soothing to the throat and provides easily assimilated nutrients[4, 254]. It can also be taken to clear catarrh. Its demulcent properties soothes inflammation of the gut and urinary tract[254]. It is commonly given to children suffering minor infections or diarrhoea and is particularly recommended as a treatment for feverish states and in catarrhal affections of the respiratory and urinary organs[4, 254]. Made into a poultice, the seed is an effective remedy for soothing and reducing inflammation in sores and swellings[254].
Modern research has shown that barley may be of aid in the treatment of hepatitis, whilst other trials have shown that it may help to control diabetes[254]. Barley bran may have the effect of lowering blood cholesterol levels and preventing bowel cancer[254].

Other Uses

Biomass Mulch Paper.

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[141, 171].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils and in climates ranging from sub-arctic to sub-tropical[1, 171]. Easily grown in light soils[162].
Widely cultivated in temperate zones, especially in cooler or moister areas, for its edible seed[1, 50, 171]. There are many named varieties. This species is sometimes considered to be no more than a sub-species of H. vulgare[61].

Propagation

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.

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Hordeum vulgare (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HEC] Use, Folk Medicine, etc. from Handbook of Energy Crops by James Duke

References for Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[34] Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press 1975
Good drawings of some of the more common food plants from around the world. Not much information though.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[141] Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading 1986 ISBN 0704909820
Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.

[162] Grounds. R. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm 1989 ISBN 0-7470-1219-9
Cultivation details of many of the grasses and bamboos. Well illustrated.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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