Rye as a grain crop is similar in most respects to wheat. Practically all the rye for grain is sown in the fall and harvested in early summer. It is earlier maturing than wheat. Stems reach 3 to 5 feet in height. The spikes are 3 to 5 inches long, slender and awned.
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.