Perennial Forest Rye / Waldstaudenroggen (Secale multicaule)

Where to begin with this extraordinary plant… This is likely one of the oldest cultivated rye varieties in the world. It is a semi-wild plant, a multi-use species that can be planted for bread flour, livestock fodder, and wildlife cover. It can also incorporate into diverse wildflower meadows without becoming weedy or invasive – and possibly has some very useful properties for habitat restoration (read on for more about that). Originating in far northern Europe and Eurasia (Finland, Siberia, Poland, Germany, and the Baltic lands), Waldstaudenroggen rye was planted by hand-scattering the seed into newly burned forest clearings where it could grow up as a tall understory grain crop amid burned trees and stumps. With rapid vigor and a high tolerance for poor soils, it is an adaptable and forgiving crop that puts on tremendous biomass. We’ve grown this in pure marine deposit clay on our farm, just feet above sea level, with drought and salt water infiltration, and it still grows to a hands