Rye (Secale cereale)

Poaceae family

Rye is an important crop in northeast Europe, where it is grown for pumpernickel bread flour and for animal feed. Like oats, rye is a secondary crop which originated as a weed in emmer and barley fields of the Near East. Rye is a diploid, with 2n=14 (RR genomes). It is especially susceptible to the fungal head disease ergot, a natural source of the psychedelic drug LSD.

Rye has become increasingly important as a source for disease- and yield-enhancing genes in the breeding of wheat, a close relative in the tribe TRITICEAE. It was hybridized with wheat to create the artificial cereal triticale. It is also a common weed in the Intermountain West.