Genus: Secale (Rye genus)

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Monocotyledons > Order: Poales > Family: Poaceae

There are about five species worldwide (Mediterranean, E Europe, central Asia) of which one is native to southern Africa. Secale cereale (Rye) is a domesticated species originating from E Turkey and Armenia that is cultivated to produce grain low in gluten and used in rye bread, crispbreads, and some alcoholic spirits (e.g. some whiskeys made in the USA, gin and some types of vodka). 

Species native to southern Africa

List from Plants of Southern Africa - an Online Checklist (SANBI).