Roland von Bothmer, Claus Baden, Niels H. Jacobsen (2007) FNA 24:241-252
Plants summer annuals. Culms 5-50 cm tall, solitary or few together, usually geniculate, sometimes erect; nodes glabrous. Basal leaf sheaths somewhat hairy; ligules 0.2-0.5 mm long; auricles usually absent or to about 0.3 mm long; blades to 8 (20) cm long, 1.5-4(-8) mm wide, flat or involute, usually sparsely hairy on both surfaces. Spikes 1.5-7 cm long, 5-10 mm wide, laterally compressed, green or with purplish awns and glumes; rachises sparsely ciliate on the edges, disarticulating at maturity, triplets remaining intact for some time after disarticulation. Glumes straight, ascending to slightly divergent at maturity. Central spikelets: sessile or on pedicels up to 1.8 mm long; glumes 14-26 mm long, usually setaceous, sometmes slightly widened at the base but not winged; lemma 5-8 mm long, usually smooth or somewhat scabrous, sometimes with hairs distally; awn 6-18 mm long; anthers 0.8-1.3 mm long, yellowish. Lateral spikelets sterile: lower glumes usually setaceous, occasionally a little widened, but not winged; upper glumes setaceous; lemmas 4-6 mm long, awned; awns 3-8 mm long.
Hordeum geniculatum grows in grassy field, waste places, and open ground. It is native to the Mediterranean region, extending east to Pakistan. It is now an established weed in many parts of the world.