Foxtail barley Hordeum jubatum L.
Family: Poaceae
Life cycle: Perennial, short-lived
Native status: NativeHabitat: Waste areas, small grains
General description: Bunch grass, bluish green, reaching heights of 20 inches. Short, membranous ligule, leaf sheaths and blades usually smooth.
Key ID traits: Awns 1 to 2.5 inches long; seedhead a nodding spike up to 5 inches long. Terminal spikelets fall off spike resulting in a shortening of the seedhead as it matures.
Similar species: Foxtail barley is frequently called squirreltail, although there is a different plant with that common name (Elymus elymoides).
Miscellaneous: Awns of mature plants can cause severe injury to eyes and mouths of grazing animals. Tolerates saline soils.