About Hordeum jubatum L.
Hordeum jubatum L., commonly known as foxtail barley, bobtail barley, squirreltail barley, and intermediate barley, is a perennial plant species in the grass family Poaceae. It grows wild primarily in northern North America and the adjacent area of northeastern Siberia. Because it has often escaped from cultivation, it can now be found across the world in regions with temperate to warm climates, and it is classified as a weed in many countries. This polyploid species formed through hybridization between an East Asian Hordeum species and an extinct close relative of the Californian species Hordeum brachyantherum. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant, valued for its attractive inflorescences that remain decorative even after flowering finishes. Foxtail barley has a range of recorded ethnobotanical uses among Native North American communities. The Chippewa and Potawatomi peoples used its root for medicinal purposes. The Kawaiisu pounded the seeds and ate them dry, and also used the plant as a tool to rub the skin off yucca stalks. Jacques Rousseau recorded that Iroquois children would place dried seed heads in other people's sleeves as a prank. The Ramah Navajo considered the plant poisonous and avoided using it.
