Secale L.

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1980, Flora Europaea. Volume 5. Alismataceae to Orchidaceae (Monocotyledones), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press : 203

55. Secale L. 2

Annuals, biennials or perennials. Leaves flat or involute; ligule short, truncate. Inflorescence usually a simple, laterally compressed, dense, distichous spike. Spikelets solitary at each node of the rhachis, sessile, with 2, rarely 3, hermaphrodite florets. Glumes linear-subulate, 1 -veined, keeled, scabrid. Lemmalanceolate, 5-veined, keeled, with rigid, pectinatecilia on the keel, with a long, straight, scabrid awn. Palea hyaline, membranous, 2-keeled.

Literature: R. I. Roshevitz, Acta Inst. Bot. Acad. Sci. URSS (Ser. 1) 6: 105-163 (1947).

1 Glumes with awn at least twice as long as remainder of glume

1. sylvestre 1 Glumeswith awn short or absent 2 Rhachis fragile, disarticulating below the spikeletsat

maturity; spike 4-11 cm; perennial 2. montanum 2 Rhachis tough, not disarticulating at maturity; spike 5-15

cm; annual 3. cereale