This old tetraploid annual, with largely glabrous sheaths and distinctive fruits (strongly inrolled lemmas exposing the rachilla and palea apex), is one of the original "cheat" grasses, especially in winter wheat. It is widely scattered in temperate regions of North America. In Ky. it is currently much less common than racemosus/commutatus and japonicus. But in 1914 Gm noted that secalinus was "common everywhere along farm roads and in wheat fields" and that racemosus was known from only one coll. (EDMO in 1898). A decade later, Anderson (1924) also called it "very common, especially in wheat fields" but indicated the spread of racemosus-commutatus (with 4 colls.) and the first coll. of japonicus.