Barley - Hordeum vulgare; barley

Japanese: オオムギ(大麦) - オオムギ（英語表記）Hordeum vulgare; barley

A biennial grass of the Gramineae family. It is said to be native to the southwestern part of mainland China, where it has been cultivated for several thousand years. It grows into a large plant, with well-tilled stems and clumps. It is about 1m tall. Its leaves are wider than those of wheat, greenish-white, and do not droop at the tips like wheat. It produces ears in April and May, and the spikelets are densely arranged in groups of three on the axis of a 5-10cm-long flower spike, forming six or four rows when viewed from above. The former is called H. vulgare var. hexastichon , and the latter H. vulgare var. vulgare . It has a long history of cultivation in Japan, and there are many varieties, but in the Kansai region and west, the six-row barley type is more prevalent. The four-row barley type is mainly cultivated overseas, and in Japan it is limited to the Tohoku and Hokuriku regions. Some types of barley are easily separated from the inner glume when the caryopsis matures, and are called naked barley. In addition to being mixed with rice as pressed barley, germinated malt is used in beer, as a saccharifying agent for candy, miso, etc. The stems are used as straw for straws and hats.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

イネ科の越年草。原産地は中国大陸南西部といわれ，中国では数千年の栽培の歴史がある。大きな株になり，茎はよく分蘗 (ぶんけつ) して叢生する。高さ 1mぐらい。葉はコムギより幅が広く，緑白色でコムギのように先が垂れない。4～5月に穂を出し，小穂は長さ5～10cmの花穂の軸上に3個ずつ並んで密につき，上から見ると6列または4列になる。前者を六条オオムギ H. vulgare var. hexastichon，後者を四条オオムギ H. vulgare var. vulgareという。日本でも栽培の歴史は古く品種が多いが，関西以西では六条オオムギ系が多い。四条オオムギ系は外国でおもに栽培され，日本では東北や北陸に限られる。穎果が成熟すると内穎から容易に分離するものがあり，ハダカムギと呼ばれる。押麦として米飯に混ぜるほか，発芽させた麦芽 (モルト) をビール，飴類の糖化剤，味噌などに用いる。茎は麦わらでストローや帽子などに使う。

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