Rat barley : Rat barley is a plants herbaceous annual (family of Poaceae – Grasses – Botanical name: hordeum murinum), very common in temperate regions.
Vernacular names: mouse barley, wall barley, rattail barley. Provençal: espigau, estrangle-chivau. Languedoc: espigoun or espigon.
Special features: the roughness of the inflorescence bristles prevents the ear from slipping back. In Provençal, it is therefore called monta sole, monta diable or trauca-sac (hole bag). The cobs can thus cause fatal lesions in animals when they enter the ear or the nostrils. The grains, despite their small size, can provide good flour.
Subspecies:
– Hordeum murinum murinum.
– Hordeum murinum glaucum (Steudel) Tzvelev (1972).
– Hordeum murinum leporinum (Link) Arcangeli (1882).