Family:
Poaceae Barnhart

Secale L.

This genus is accepted, and its native range is E. Central & E. Europe, Medit. to Xinjiang and W. Himalaya, S. Africa.

[GB]

nonem

Morphology General Habit
Annual (4), or perennial (4). Culms erect (5/5), or geniculately ascending (3/5), or decumbent (1/5); 15-65.62-150 cm long. Leaf-sheath auricles falcate. Ligule an eciliate membrane.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes single; erect (1), or ascending (7); bilateral. Rhachis tough (2), or fragile at the nodes (7). Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis; crowded (2), or contiguous (6). Rhachis internodes oblong; falling with spikelet above (7/7). Spikelets ascending (1/1); solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 2 fertile florets; with a barren rhachilla extension (2), or with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets lanceolate (2), or oblong (1), or cuneate (6); laterally compressed; 8-13.56-18 mm long; persistent on plant (1), or falling entire (6), or breaking up at maturity (2); deciduous with accessory branch structures (6/6); disarticulating below each fertile floret (2/2).
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 2 fertile florets; with a barren rhachilla extension (2), or with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets lanceolate (2), or oblong (1), or cuneate (6); laterally compressed; 8-13.56-18 mm long; persistent on plant (1), or falling entire (6), or breaking up at maturity (2); deciduous with accessory branch structures (6/6); disarticulating below each fertile floret (2/2).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes shorter than spikelet (7), or reaching apex of florets (2); thinner than fertile lemma (7), or similar to fertile lemma in texture (1). Lower glume subulate (1), or linear (4), or lanceolate (2), or oblong (1); 1 length of upper glume; membranous (7), or coriaceous (1); 1-keeled (7/7); 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume surface glabrous (5), or puberulous (3), or pubescent (1). Lower glume apex acuminate (7/7); muticous (1/7), or mucronate (2/7), or awned (5/7). Upper glume subulate (1), or linear (4), or lanceolate (2), or oblong (1); 0.6-0.8714-1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous (7), or coriaceous (1); 1-keeled (7/7); 1 -veined. Upper glume primary vein eciliate (4), or ciliate (4). Upper glume surface glabrous (6), or puberulous (2), or pubescent (1). Upper glume apex acuminate (7/7); muticous (1/7), or mucronate (1/7), or awned (6/7); 1 -awned (6/6).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma lanceolate (2), or elliptic (6); coriaceous; keeled; 5 -veined. Lemma midvein eciliate (1), or pectinately ciliate (7). Lemma surface smooth (7), or scaberulous (3), or scabrous (1). Lemma margins eciliate (6), or ciliate (2). Lemma apex acuminate; awned; 1 -awned. Palea 0.6-0.9125-1 length of lemma; 2 -veined. Palea keels smooth (5), or scaberulous (2), or scabrous (1); eciliate (5), or ciliolate (3). Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped (1), or distinct from fertile (7); 1 in number (7/7); barren (7/7); linear (1/1). Apical sterile lemmas muticous (6/7), or awned (1/7).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Lodicules 2; ciliate. Anthers 3. Ovary with a fleshy appendage below style insertion; pubescent on apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; ellipsoid (1/2), or obovoid (1/2). Embryo 0.25-0.29-0.33 length of caryopsis. Hilum linear; 1 length of caryopsis.
Distribution
Europe (4), or Africa (3), or Temperate Asia (7), or Tropical Asia (3), or Australasia (1), or North America (2), or South America (1).

Doubtfully present in:

Saudi Arabia

Native to:

Afghanistan, Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cape Provinces, Central European Rus, East European Russia, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, North Caucasus, Pakistan, Romania, Sicilia, South European Russi, Spain, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, West Himalaya, Xinjiang, Yugoslavia

Extinct in:

Jawa

Introduced into:

Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, Algeria, Amur, Arizona, Arkansas, Austria, Baltic States, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil South, British Columbia, California, Canary Is., China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Colombia, Colorado, Connecticut, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, District of Columbia, East Himalaya, Ecuador, Florida, France, Georgia, Great Britain, Greenland, Gulf of Guinea Is., Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Inner Mongolia, Iowa, Ireland, Japan, Jawa, Kamchatka, Kansas, Kentucky, Khabarovsk, Korea, Louisiana, Maine, Manchuria, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mongolia, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Newfoundland, North Carolina, North Dakota, North European Russi, Northwest European R, Northwest Territorie, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Palestine, Pennsylvania, Primorye, Prince Edward I., Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, Saudi Arabia, South Australia, South Carolina, South Dakota, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Victoria, Virginia, Washington, Western Australia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon

Secale L. appears in other Kew resources:

First published in Sp. Pl.: 84 (1753)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R., Nic Lughadha, E., Black, N., Turner, R. & Paton, A. (2021). The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00997-6 Scientific Data 8: 215.

  • GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0