This is a common grass which finds its way onto roadside verges, waste places and even cracks in the pavement. It looks like a small version of a Barley crop, usually not growing much more than 0.5 m in height. The name causes confusion because the "murinum" part sounds like a corruption of the Latin word for Wall and that it should be corrected to muralis or murale. Actually it is correct and the English name in the USA is often quoted as Mouse Barley the Latin name of which would indeed be Hordeum murinum.

H. murinum is very common in England and in Wales except for the hilly centre but records quickly decrease northwards and it is uncommon in Scotland and in Ireland it is found mostly on the east coast.

Frodsham marshes 4th October 2004

Added on November 2nd 2005, updated 9th April 2009, updated 7th April 2010