BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Hordeum jubatum | Foxtail Barley 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Foxtail barley is a short-lived, native, perennial, cool-season grass
[1,14,26,32].  It has erect, slender stems, 1 to 2 feet (0.3-0.6 m)
tall, growing in thick bunches or tufts [23,26,38].  The roots are
fibrous [35].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Chamaephyte
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Sexual reproduction:  Foxtail barley is a prolific seeder.  Ripe
seedheads break up and are dispersed by wind or transported in the hair
of grazing animals [35].

Seed germination:  Foxtail barley produces two germination cohorts:  one
in the spring and one in the fall.  These two cohorts are important in
maintaining populations of foxtail barley [2].  On a saline marsh at
Rittman, Ohio, foxtail barley seed production per inflorescence was
greater with an increase in soil salinity [1].  Seed germination is
inhibited by warm summer temperatures, but seeds readily germinate when
exposed to cooler fall temperatures.  After cold stratification the
temperature range favorable for germination broadens.  Freezing
temperatures result in high seed mortality [1].  Seeds are capable of
germinating in 1.0 percent total salts or less. Germination decrease
when salinity increases past 1.0 percent [34].  Germination is
independent of light conditions [1].

Seedlings:  Foxtail barley seedlings can survive for several months at
salinities unfavorable for growth and reproduction.  In a marsh at
Rittman, Ohio, highest survival of fall and spring seedlings occurred in
the most saline lower marsh [2].

Vegetative reproduction:  Foxtail barley reproduces vegetatively by
tillering [33].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Foxtail barley grows chiefly on grassland types on the plains and lower
foothills but also extends upward to subalpine elevations in the spruce
belt.  It is very common throughout the West, especially along roadsides
and other waste places, and in grain and hay fields [17,23,31,35].  It
reaches its greatest abundance on the edges of sloughs and salt marshes,
grassy slopes, and flatlands in the western prairies [4].  It is also
abundant in overgrazed sagebrush margins and irrigated meadows [14].  In
sagebrush, pinyon-juniper, salt-desert shrub, and plains grasslands
communities, it generally occurs in areas where extra water has
accumulated, such as sloughs and around stock-water developments [38].

Soils and salt-tolerance:  Foxtail barley grows well on a variety of
soil textures ranging from sandy loam to clay, with clay content varying
from 17 percent to 56 percent [34,45].  It requires fairly moist
conditions and cannot sustain itself during long dry periods [8,34].
Foxtail barley commonly occurs on soils with moderate salinity but can
also grow and reproduce under nonsaline conditions [34,45].  Foxtail
barley has a broad tolerance to variations in pH.  It occurs in areas
with a pH from 6.4 to 9.5, with a median value of 8.1 in the surface
soils [34].

Elevational range:  The elevational range of foxtail barley in several
western states is as follows [8]:

        Utah:  2,500 to 8,800 feet (762-2,682 m)
        Colorado:  3,400 to 10,400 feet (1,036-3,170 m)
        Wyoming:  3,500 to 9,400 feet (1,067-2,865 m)
        Montana:  2,100 to 3,900 feet (640-1,189 m)

Plant associates:  Foxtail barley may occur in relatively pure stands in
moderately saline communities or as a codominant with inland saltgrass
(Distichlis stricta var. stricta) and spearleaf saltweed (Atriplex
patula var.  hastata) [34].  Foxtail barley is also commonly associated
with coastal saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), nutka alkaligrass
(Puccinellia nutkaensis), Pursh seepweed (Suaeda depressa), heath aster
(Aster ericoides), field sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis), curly dock
(Rumex crispus), bluegrass (Poa spp.), and wheatgrass (Agropyron spp.)
[6,13,15,34].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Foxtail barley is a pioneer or invader in disturbed areas and in areas
with high salinity [10,15,20,43].  It is among the first grasses to
establish after disturbance and may become dominant in early seral
grassland communities.  It also occurs but is not dominant in some late
seral to climax grassland communities [29].  It rapidly invades areas
exposed by a receding water table.  If the water table becomes stablized
at a high level, foxtail barley will ultimately be replaced by saltgrass
(Distichlis spp.) or common spikesedge (Eleocharis palustris) in saline
areas [10,20,43].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Foxtail barley starts growth in April or May.  Flowering and seed set
generally occur from May until late July [2,33,34].

Related categories for Species: Hordeum jubatum | Foxtail Barley