Distribution: Widely cultivated, especially in poor, dry soil, often persistent for more than one season.
Habitat: Roadsides and waste ground.
Flowers: May - July
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Annual, Biennial
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Pollination: Wind
Annual, the culms hollow, 6-15 dm. tall.
Sheaths open; auricles prominent; ligules 1 mm. long; blades flat, 4-10 mm. broad.
Inflorescence a terminal spike 8-15 cm. long; spikelets 1 per node, borne flatwise on the rachis, sessile, 2-flowered; florets usually 2, placed side-by-side, the rachilla prolonged between the two; glumes stiff, awl-like, 1-nerved, shorter than the lemmas; lemmas keeled asymmetrically, 5-nerved, curved, with awns 4-7 cm. long.
Publication: Sp. Pl. 1: 84 1753.
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Secale cereale in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database.
WA Flora Checklist: Secale cereale checklist entry.
OregonFlora: Secale cereale information.
E-Flora BC: Secale cereale atlas page.
CalPhotos: Secale cereale photos.
USDA Plants: Secale cereale information.
