noun

1. the stalks or stems of cultivated cereal plants, beans, peas, etc., esp. after the crop has been gathered
2. straw or hay used for thatching, bedding, etc.
3. a stem of grass or grain

Etymology: ME halm < OE healm, halm, straw, akin to Ger halm < IE *olemos, reed, cane > Gr kalamos, L culmus