Naming
The species is a polyploid and originated via hybridization of an East Asian "Hordeum" species with a close but extinct relative of Californian "H. brachyantherum". It is grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive inflorescences and when done flowering for its inflorescence.Uses
Foxtail barley has been recorded as having varied uses among Native North American societies. The Chippewa and Potawatomi used the root as medicine; the Kawaiisu pounded and ate the seeds dry, or used the plant as a tool to rub the skin off yucca stalks. Jacques Rousseau fr noted Iroquois children placing the dried seed heads in the sleeves of others as a prank. The Ramah Navajo considered the plant poisonous and avoided it.References:
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