Comparison of scales used for categorising the development of wheat, barley, rye and oats

Summary A review of the scales used to assess the development of cereals is presented. Twenty‐three scales are identified and they are separated into those that codify the external development of plants and those that describe events at the apical meristem. Comparison of the scales is made for wheat, barley, rye and oats, where this is possible. Attention is drawn to the divergence in the descriptions of similar plants on different scales. Theoretical aspects of the general usage of developmental scales are also discussed.