Rye

Rye (Secale cereale), grain of the grass family, hardiest of all cereal crops. It can grow in poor, sandy soils in cool and temperate climates. Most rye is used for human consumption, e.g. pumpernickel and light-colored rye bread or to make gin and whiskey, but rye grain and middlings (a by-product of milling) are also fed to livestock and used for cattle pasturage. The leading producer of rye is the USSR. If rye is infected with ergot, a poisonous fungus, it becomes unsafe for use.