What is "secale"

Secale \Se*ca"le\, n. [L., a kind of grain.] (Bot.) A genus of cereal grasses including rye.

Secale is a genus of the Triticeae tribe containing grasses that are related to barley (Hordeum) and wheat (Triticum). The genus includes cultivated species such as rye (Secale cereale) as well as weedy and wild rye species. The most well known species of the genus is the cultivated rye, S. cereale, which is grown as a grain and forage crop. Wild and weedy rye species help provide a huge gene pool that can be used for improvement of the cultivated rye.

The Secale genus includes the cultivated rye and four to eleven wild species depending on the species criteria used. Commonly recognized species of the genus are the annuals, S. cereale, S. vavilovii Grouch, and S. sylvestre and perennial S. strictum (syn. S. montanum). Secale cereale includes cultivated rye and other weedy rye types.Secale strictum is a group that includes distinct geographical isolates. Secale vavilovii is the most different of the genus as it separated early from the other species in the genus.