Barley

Barley (Hordeum vulgare), also called common barley, is an annual grass of the Poaceae, 60–120 cm tall with hollow, tufted stems. Leaves are long and strap-shaped with long sheaths wrapping the stem. The inflorescence is a compact spike bearing long awns; depending on the cultivar it has two-row or six-row grain. The grain is a small caryopsis, either hulled (with husk) or hulless (naked). Barley is among the earliest domesticated crops, about 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent; it is the earliest-ripening cereal and tolerates cold and salinity well, so it is grown from temperate to subtropical regions.

Barley is widely used: roasted grain makes barley tea (boricha, mugicha) in Japan, Korea and China; pearl barley is cooked in porridge and soup; barley flour is baked into bread. More importantly, malted barley — grain germinated then dried to develop enzymes — is the key raw material for brewing beer and distilling whisky. In Vietnam little barley is grown, mainly in northern uplands; most malting barley is imported for the beer industry. Grain and straw also serve as animal feed. Thanks to beta-glucan (a soluble fibre), barley helps lower cholesterol and steady blood sugar.