Hordeum vulgare var. coeleste Linnaeus

Flowering and fruiting from June to September.

Hordeum vulgare var. coeleste is close relative of Hordeum vulgare var. trifurcatum, but differs from the latter in its apex of lemma with long awn 8-15 cm (vs. with 3-forked appendage).

Hordeum vulgare var. coeleste is cultivated in NW and SW China, cultivated occurring in other non-tropical countries.

Plants annual. Culms erect, 50-100 cm tall, smooth, glabrous. Leaf sheath usually glabrous; auricles present; ligule 1-2 mm, mm, membranous; leaf blade 9-25 cm, 0.6-2 cm wide. Spike hexastichous, dense; rachis flexible. Spikelets all sessile, fertile, and similar. Glumes linear-lanceolate at base, puberulent; awn 8-14 mm. Lemma apex with long awn 8-15 cm. Palea equaling lemma. Caryopsis free from lemma and palea.

The chromosomal number of Hordeum vulgare var. coeleste is 2n = 14 (Ramesh and Sharma, 1994; Ding and Song, 1996; Zhang and Yandua, 1996).

Growing in plateau cool weather.

Hordeum vulgare var. coeleste is cultivated as a food for Tibet people.