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Little barley (Hordeum pusillum) ripens in May and June, providing valuable nutrients during the spring starving period.
NPS image / Bethany Dixon
Little barley (Hordeum pusillum) is another common plant cultivated as part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex. Whether or not little barley was ever truly domesticated is debated by archeologists. There are no clear signs of domestication like larger seed size or distinct genetic differences from wild variants, but its appearance in the archeological record alongside other cultivars signifies that little barley was at least grown and tended to by Native Americans around 3,000 years ago.
Little barley seeds are edible, but their sharp hair-like attachments, called awns, need to be separated from the seeds beforehand.
NPS image / Elora Deewaard
As the name suggests, little barley is similar to its Eurasian relative, barley (Hordeum vulgare), though little barley has much smaller grains. Little barley tends to grow in dry, agitated soils and prefers to grow in dense tufts. Like many grain crops, it needs to be grown densely to provide sufficient crops for harvest. Little barley ripens in late May and June, providing people with necessary nutrients during the spring when other plants and animals have not yet recovered from the winter months. The grainy seeds are edible, but their sharp hair-like attachments, called awns, need to be separated from the seeds beforehand. The seeds were likely blanched, roasted, boiled, or ground into a flour.
