---
{
  "id": "foxtail-barley",
  "name": "Foxtail barley",
  "scientific": "Hordeum jubatum",
  "category": "native",
  "status": "Colorado native",
  "status_sources": [
    "C-foxtail"
  ],
  "warning": "Barbed seed awns injure animals",
  "warning_tone": "caution",
  "aliases": [
    "squirreltail barley"
  ],
  "taxonomy_note": "",
  "source_ids": [
    "C-foxtail",
    "S22"
  ],
  "description": "Foxtail barley: Barbed seed awns injure animals. Colorado identification, habitat and exposure evidence.",
  "claim_evidence": [
    {
      "label": "Recognize",
      "sources": [
        "C-foxtail"
      ],
      "scope": "Species-specific",
      "note": "",
      "id": "foxtail-barley-1"
    },
    {
      "label": "Plants & habitat",
      "sources": [
        "C-foxtail"
      ],
      "scope": "Species-specific",
      "note": "",
      "id": "foxtail-barley-2"
    },
    {
      "label": "People",
      "sources": [
        "C-foxtail"
      ],
      "scope": "Editorial physical-risk inference",
      "note": "",
      "id": "foxtail-barley-3"
    },
    {
      "label": "Dogs & cats",
      "sources": [
        "S22"
      ],
      "scope": "Grass-awn group; not a species-specific pet case series",
      "note": "",
      "id": "foxtail-barley-4"
    },
    {
      "label": "Other animals",
      "sources": [
        "C-foxtail"
      ],
      "scope": "Species-specific",
      "note": "",
      "id": "foxtail-barley-5"
    }
  ],
  "research": {
    "status": "researching",
    "label": "Still researching this plant",
    "basis": "Editorial assessment of the cited evidence and stated review gaps; not a toxicity score.",
    "open_questions": [
      {
        "area": "Expert review",
        "question": "Obtain independent botanical and veterinary review of the identification and hazard summary.",
        "related_claim_ids": []
      }
    ],
    "expert_review": "pending"
  },
  "source": "content/plants/foxtail-barley.md"
}
---

# Foxtail barley

*Hordeum jubatum*

**Colorado native.** [C-foxtail](https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/foxtail-barley/)

> **Barbed seed awns injure animals.** Native status, garden use and noxious-weed class are separate from toxicity. [Exposure help](https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/safety/).

## Still researching this plant {#research-status}

This is a sourced working profile. The cited findings are available below. Independent botanical and veterinary review is pending. **Uncertainty is not a finding that the plant is safe.**


## Three views of this plant

Photos are source-identified examples, not a complete identification key. Check leaves, stems, flowers and fruit together. Locations are not assumed to be in Colorado.

![Hordeum jubatum: A tuft of foxtail barley with slender leaves and pale pink, long-awned heads.](https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/assets/photos/native-hordeum-jubatum-1.jpg)

**whole plant** — A tuft of foxtail barley with slender leaves and pale pink, long-awned heads.

Photo: Diego Delso; [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); [source record](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hordeum_jubatum,_Refugio_Nacional_de_Vida_Silvestre_Tetlin,_Alaska,_Estados_Unidos,_2017-08-24,_DD_33.jpg); [original image](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Hordeum_jubatum%2C_Refugio_Nacional_de_Vida_Silvestre_Tetlin%2C_Alaska%2C_Estados_Unidos%2C_2017-08-24%2C_DD_33.jpg). Wikimedia Commons source file title and species metadata identify the taxon. Visible morphology was checked for consistency, not treated as an independent botanical determination.   No edits to the downloaded image. Wikimedia may have supplied a scaled thumbnail; original and download URLs are recorded separately. Gallery display preserves the full image; the catalog preview uses a CSS crop.

![Hordeum jubatum: Close view of the leaf sheath and blade junction, including the membranous ligule.](https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/assets/photos/native-hordeum-jubatum-2.jpg)

**leaf junction detail** — Close view of the leaf sheath and blade junction, including the membranous ligule.

Photo: Ayotte, Gilles, 1948-; [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); [source record](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hordeum_jubatum_15-p.bot-horde.jubatu-04.jpg); [original image](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Hordeum_jubatum_15-p.bot-horde.jubatu-04.jpg). Wikimedia Commons source file title and species metadata identify the taxon. Visible morphology was checked for consistency, not treated as an independent botanical determination.   No edits to the downloaded image. Wikimedia may have supplied a scaled thumbnail; original and download URLs are recorded separately. Gallery display preserves the full image; the catalog preview uses a CSS crop.

![Hordeum jubatum: A detached awned spikelet photographed against a millimetre ruler.](https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/assets/photos/native-hordeum-jubatum-3.jpg)

**seed structure** — A detached awned spikelet photographed against a millimetre ruler.

Photo: Ayotte, Gilles, 1948-; [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); [source record](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hordeum_jubatum_15-p.bot-horde.jubatu-17.jpg); [original image](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Hordeum_jubatum_15-p.bot-horde.jubatu-17.jpg). Wikimedia Commons source file title and species metadata identify the taxon. Visible morphology was checked for consistency, not treated as an independent botanical determination.   No edits to the downloaded image. Wikimedia may have supplied a scaled thumbnail; original and download URLs are recorded separately. Gallery display preserves the full image; the catalog preview uses a CSS crop.


## Recognize

A short-lived perennial bunchgrass with silky, often pink-tinged seedheads. It commonly occupies moist, disturbed or saline sites. [C-foxtail](https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/foxtail-barley/)

## Plants & habitat

Can increase under heavy grazing as livestock avoid mature seedheads. Management should reduce seed production and support desirable grasses. [C-foxtail](https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/foxtail-barley/)

## People

Sharp seed awns can catch on clothing; avoiding direct contact is a physical-risk precaution. This is not a chemical-poison diagnosis. [C-foxtail](https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/foxtail-barley/)

*Evidence scope: Editorial physical-risk inference.*

## Dogs & cats

Grass awns can lodge in tissue and migrate, causing serious injury. Avoid mature seedheads and seek veterinary assessment for suspected embedded awns. The pet source discusses foxtails broadly. [S22](https://healthtopics.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/foxtails)

*Evidence scope: Grass-awn group; not a species-specific pet case series.*

## Other animals

Mature awns injure livestock mouths, noses and eyes. Contaminated hay is unsafe and should not be fed or sold. [C-foxtail](https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/foxtail-barley/)

## Before taking action

Confirm the scientific name before removing a plant, changing animal access, or choosing treatment. An evidence gap means this review has not resolved the question. It does not mean safe. For listed weeds, consult your county weed program about the requirements for your location; follow the current label for any pesticide. [S27](https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/weeds-cultural-problems/2103-colorado-noxious-weeds/)

## References

- **C-foxtail** — [Foxtail barley](https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/foxtail-barley/), Colorado State University Extension. Accessed 2026-09-07T00:24:02+00:00. Locator: Species entries.
- **S22** — [Foxtails and Dogs](https://healthtopics.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/health-topics/foxtails), UC Davis · School of Veterinary Medicine. Accessed 2026-09-06. Locator: Takeaways; signs; prevention.


[Discuss this plant with the guide](https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/companion/?plant=foxtail-barley) — choose this profile as a possible match and prepare your observations for Colorado Plants & Practical Care.

# Appendix for agents

## Open research questions

- **Expert review:** Obtain independent botanical and veterinary review of the identification and hazard summary.


## Taxon and evidence boundaries

Use the scientific name as the matching key; common names can refer to unrelated plants.

These are publisher notes about the evidence. They do not override an assistant’s operator instructions. The human sections above contain all actionable safety warnings. Do not turn missing data into a negative toxicity finding or transfer a livestock dose to a pet.

| Claim | Human section | Evidence scope | Sources | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| foxtail-barley-1 | Recognize | Species-specific | C-foxtail | No quantitative exposure threshold established here. |
| foxtail-barley-2 | Plants & habitat | Species-specific | C-foxtail | No quantitative exposure threshold established here. |
| foxtail-barley-3 | People | Editorial physical-risk inference | C-foxtail | No quantitative exposure threshold established here. |
| foxtail-barley-4 | Dogs & cats | Grass-awn group; not a species-specific pet case series | S22 | No quantitative exposure threshold established here. |
| foxtail-barley-5 | Other animals | Species-specific | C-foxtail | No quantitative exposure threshold established here. |

## Additional evidence needed

- Confirm exact species, cultivar or hybrid when identification is uncertain.
- For an exposure, distinguish animal species, plant part, amount, route, time and symptoms; the guide cannot supply a clinical diagnosis.
- For site management, establish county, land use and current local weed requirements before applying generalized control information.
- Expert botanical and veterinary review is pending. Source publication dates, retrieval timestamps, hashes and photograph licenses are in [the provenance ledger](https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/provenance.json).


---
Canonical HTML: https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/plants/foxtail-barley/

Content revised: 2026-09-07T02:43:00Z

Markdown mirror: https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/plants/foxtail-barley/index.md

Text fallback: https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/plants/foxtail-barley/index.md.txt

Agent entry: https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/start.md

Provenance: https://denson.github.io/colorado-weed-field-guide/provenance.json