Barley

"... there are over eighty recognizable and distinct botanical forms of cultivated barley, based on morphological character differences (, 1950). Of these, only ten have achieved any wide distribution, and three of these contribute by far the greatest proportion of the cultivated barleys of the world (Orlov, 1936)."

"… historic sources and ancient texts report that gladiators had their own diet consisting of barley and beans, and they have been referred to as hordearii or ‘barley men’ which was reported to help with weight gain and providing subcutaneous fat that protected them from flesh wounds during fights ... Barley is commonly used as a food ingredient, as a fermentable material for beer and distilled beverages and as animal fodder. Barley is ranked fourth amongst the cereal crops behind maize, and in terms of production, area harvested and yield over the past 20 years ... Barley has been incorporated into a variety of food products based on the potential health benefits. The s, a type of soluble fibre, in barley have been demonstrated to lower blood cholesterol ... and reduce human glycaemic response ..."

"Barley was a difficult cereal grain upon which to apply transgenic technology successfully, but not more so than wheat. Major obstacles have now been overcome using direct and indirect methods of transformation, Among the numerous pioneers who produced transgenic barleys, Wan and were first to report efficient transformation of barley that resulted in fertile, stably transformed plants (Wan and Lemaux, 1994)."

"The fruit or in the commoner varieties of cultivated barleys is adherent to the flowering and pale, and on being thrashed does not separate from the latter. Varieties termed naked barleys, however, exist, in which the caryopsis is free from the glumes and falls out of the as readily or more so than a grain of ."

"... barley has been harvested all across North America. Its graceful seed heads are among the most beautiful of grains, as they ripen, swaying in the summer breezes. And while the crop has generally been used in brewing and as a highly nutritious animal feed, its role as one of the most delicious ingredients in a modern kitchen has been overlooked far too often."

"Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most ancient crops, and it has played a role in the human development of agriculture, civilizations, and culture and the sciences of agronomy, physiology, genetics, breeding, malting, and brewing. It is grown and/or used around the world. For many centuries, barley has fed livestock, poultry, people, and people's spirit. Barley was among the first domesticates playing an important role during the hundreds or thousands of years of human transition from hunting and gathering to agrarian lifestyle in the "Fertile Crescent" of the Near East starting at least 10,000 years ago. ... Barley is best known around the world today as a feed grain and as the premier malting and brewing grain."