It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than other cereals, making it useful in those regions; its vigorous growth suppresses weeds and provides abundant forage for animals early in the year.

It is likely that rye arrived in Europe as a secondary crop, meaning that it was a minor admixture in wheat as a result of Vavilovian mimicry, and was only later cultivated in its own right.

A wheat-rye hybrid, triticale, combines the qualities of the two parent crops and is produced in large quantities worldwide.

The rye genus Secale is in the grass tribe Triticeae, which contains other cereals such as barley (Hordeum) and wheat (Triticum).

[1] The generic name Secale, related to Italian segale and French seigle meaning "rye", is of unknown origin but may derive from a Balkan language.

Evidence uncovered at the Epipalaeolithic site of Tell Abu Hureyra in the Euphrates valley of northern Syria suggests that rye was among the first cereal crops to be systematically cultivated, around 13,000 years ago.

[4] However, that claim remains controversial; critics point to inconsistencies in the radiocarbon dates, and identifications based solely on grain, rather than on chaff.

[10] The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder was dismissive of a grain that may have been rye, writing that it "is a very poor food and only serves to avert starvation".

Rye plants withstand cold better than other small grains, surviving snow cover that would kill winter wheat.

[16] The physical properties of rye affect attributes of the final food product such as seed size, surface area, and porosity.

It grows during warmer days of the winter when sunlight temporarily warms the plant above freezing, even while there is general snow cover.

[21] As for temperature, the crop can thrive in subzero environments, assisted by the production of antifreeze polypeptides (different from those produced by some fish and insects) by the leaves of winter rye.

[23] Pests including the nematode Ditylenchus dipsaci and a variety of herbivorous insects can seriously affect plant health.

[25][26] Consumption of ergot-infected rye by humans and animals results in ergotism, which causes convulsions, miscarriage, necrosis of digits, hallucinations and death.

Historically, damp northern countries that depended on rye as a staple crop were subject to periodic epidemics.

[15] Modern grain-cleaning and milling methods have practically eliminated ergotism, but it remains a risk if food safety vigilance breaks down.

[39] Consuming breakfast cereals containing rye over weeks to months also improved cholesterol levels and glucose regulation.

[42] Rye grain is refined into a flour high in gliadin but low in glutenin and rich in soluble fiber.

[44][45] In Scandinavia, rye is widely used to make crispbread (Knäckebröd); in the Middle Ages it was a staple food in the region, and it remains popular in the 21st century.

[47] Rye is a useful forage crop in cool climates; it grows vigorously and provides plentiful fodder for grazing animals, or green manure to improve the soil.

[53] Plant breeders, starting in the 19th century in Germany and Scotland,[54] but mainly from the 1950s, worked to develop a hybrid cereal with the best qualities of wheat and rye, now called triticale.

The classical scholar Carl A. P. Ruck writes that the Roggenmutter was believed to go through the fields, rustling like the wind, with a pack of rye wolves running after her.