Spikelets generally contain two fertile flowers. Seeds are enclosed in the palea and lemma, as in wheat, but tend to protrude when near ripe, so are less completely enclosed than in wheat. The seed threshes free of the palea and lemma. The seeds tend to shatter or fall out when ripe. For this reason, coupled with earlier ripening, rye may be a bad weed in wheat fields.
Rye is second only to wheat for flour production.
Milling of rye is essentially similar to wheat. Baked goods made with rye flour have a distinctive flavor. As feed, rye is not relished by livestock, so rye grain is usually fed in mixtures with other cereals. In nutritive value rye is a little lower than wheat. Substantial quantities of rye are also used for making distilled alcoholic beverages.