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Little Barley

Hordeum pusillum

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in roadsides, fields, pastures, ditches, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

45
Good

Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
About 1.2 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Bloom
April to June
Fruiting season
Spring to summer

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 56 Louisiana parishes.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA

Genus host records with ranges including LA · Hordeum

  • Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
  • Agrotis venerabilisVenerable Dart, Dusky Cut-Worm
  • Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
  • Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
  • Fissicrambus mutabilisStriped Webworm, Striped Sodworm, Changeable Grass-Veneer
  • Leucania subpunctataWhite-Dotted Wainscot, Forage Armyworm
  • Maliattha synochitisBlack-Dotted Lithacodia, Black-Dotted Glyph, Brass-Dotted Grass Moth
  • Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
  • Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
  • Nephelodes miniansBronzed Cutworm
Show all 13
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
18BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Hordeum

  • Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
  • Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
  • Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
  • Aythya americanaRedhead
  • Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
  • Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Columba liviaRock Pigeon
  • Corvus coraxCommon Raven
  • Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
Show all 18
  • Passerculus sandwichensisSavannah Sparrow
  • Perdix perdixGray Partridge
  • Phasianus colchicusRing-necked Pheasant
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
  • Xanthocephalus xanthocephalusYellow-headed Blackbird
  • Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
  • Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae
Flower color
Yellow
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Grows in clumps
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Spring
Fruit ends
Summer

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Louisiana rankSNR
Global rankG5
LA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources