A cereal (Secale cereale) that is grown as a grain, coverage crop, and as a forage crop. It is closely related to barley and wheat. In some contexts, such as woodland restoration, rye is considered a pioneer species. It is an annual, and it has long, linear leaves. Rye is a wind pollinated plant, and its florets develop fruits that have a single seed.

Though generally preferring fertile loam, rye can thrive in cold environments with poor soil quality. It is considered to have be the hardiest of the small grains in terms of the cold, growing as far north as the arctic circle. Additionally, it thrives at high altitudes.

Rye probably originated in Southwestern Asia before migrating to the Balkan peninsula and throughout Europe as a result. The earliest definitive records of rye being domesticated can be traced back to modern day Turkey in 6600 BCE. Whether it was domesticated directly or indirectly is unknown.

Rye is primarily used in the production of rye breads and rye whiskey. Rye does contain enough gluten to make a traditional loaf of bread. If you are going with more traditional methods, then rye is considered inferior to wheat in that regard. While on the topic of bread and flour, the flour produced from rye has a notably dark color, with resulting breads sometimes known as black breads. An example of this type of bread is pumpernickel.

One more note: rye is particularly susceptible to a fungus known as ergot. Ergot, when attacking the grain, replaces portions of it with a fungal body known as the sclerotium. The fungus does have psychoactive properties, resulting in something known as ergotism, which has also been known as “holy fire” and “Saint Anthony’s fire”. To be specific, one of the alkaloids present in ergot is lysergic acid, which is a naturally occurring precursor to LSD. Poisonings from ergot were common well into the 19th century but have seen a dramatic drop off.

Fun fact: some of the convulsions cited in the Salem Witch Trials are thought to have stemmed from exposure to ergot.