Hordeum geniculatum

Hordeum geniculatum, Hordeum hystrix, Hordeum gussoneanum, Hordeum marinum, Barley-Grass, Mediterranean Barley, Seaside barley,

Hebrew: שעורה נימית, Arabic: شعرية

Scientific name:   Hordeum geniculatum All.
Synonym name:   Hordeum hystrix Roth, Hordeum gussoneanum Parl., Hordeum marinum Hudson ssp. gussoneanum (Parl.) Thell.
Common name:   Wall Barley, Barley-Grass, Mediterranean Barley
Hebrew name:   שעורה נימית
Arabic name:   شعرية
Family:   Graminea (Poaceae), Grass Family, משפחת הדגניים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Stems:   Culms up to 60 cm high, tufted or solitary, erect or geniculately ascending
Leaves:   Alternate, entire
Flowers:   Inflorescence: 1.5–7 cm, 5–20 mm wide, green to purple
Fruits / pods:   Caryopsis, grain
Flowering Period:   March, April, May
Habitat:   Salty habitats
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Hordeumm, Latin name for barley.

geniculatum, bent sharply like a knee.
hystrix, bristly, porcupine-like.
gussoneanum, after Giovanni Gussone (1787-1866), an Italian botanist from Naples.
marinum, growing by or in the sea.
The Hebrew name: se’ora, שעורה – “barley” is related to se’ar, שער – “hair”, and literally means “the hairy or bearded (grain)”.

  • The standard author abbreviation All is used to indicate Carlo Allioni (1728 – 1804), an Italian physician and professor of botany at the University of Turin.
  • The standard author abbreviation Roth is used to indicate Albrecht Wilhelm Roth (1757 – 1834), a German physician and botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Parl. is used to indicate Filippo Parlatore (1816 – 1877), an Italian botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Hudson is used to indicate William Hudson (1730 – 1793), a British botanist and apothecary.
  • The standard author abbreviation Thell. is used to indicate Albert Thellung (1881 – 1928), a Swiss botanist.