Triticum turgidum
L.
Poaceae
The Temperate Database is in the process of being updated, with new records being added and old ones being checked and brought up to date where necessary. This record has not yet been checked and updated.
Common Name: Rivet Wheat
General Information
Triticum turgidum is an annual plant that can grow up to 1.50 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
Range
Middle East? Original habitat is obscure.
Habitat
Developed through cultivation, it is not known in a truly wild location.
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Habit | Annual |
| Height | 1.50 m |
| Pollinators | Wind |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most well-drained soils in a sunny position.
One of the more primitive forms of wheat, it was probably developed in cultivation from T. dicoccoides about 10,000 years ago. It is still occasionally cultivated for its edible seed, there are some named varieties[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
57- Title
- Plants for Man.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Schery. R. W.
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
,
171- Title
- Economic Botany.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Hill. A. F.
- Publisher
- The Maple Press
- Year
- 1952
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
]. It is not very high yielding[
57- Title
- Plants for Man.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Schery. R. W.
- Publisher
-
- Year
-
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
].
A tetraploid species[
142- Title
- Plants Consumed by Man.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Brouk. B.
- Publisher
- Academic Press
- Year
- 1975
- ISBN
- 0-12-136450-x
- Description
- Readable but not very comprehensive.
], it is not much grown outside Britain[
171- Title
- Economic Botany.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Hill. A. F.
- Publisher
- The Maple Press
- Year
- 1952
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
].
Edible Uses
Seed - cooked[
1- Title
- RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
- Publication
-
- Author
- F. Chittendon.
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Year
- 1951
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
,
34- Title
- The Oxford Book of Food Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G.
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Year
- 1975
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- Good drawings of some of the more common food plants from around the world. Not much information though.
,
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. It is usually ground into a flour and used as a cereal for making macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli etc[
183- Title
- Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Facciola. S.
- Publisher
- Kampong Publications
- Year
- 1990
- ISBN
- 0-9628087-0-9
- Description
- Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
].
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
The straw has many uses, as a biomass for fuel etc, for thatching, as a mulch in the garden etc[
141- Title
- Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Carruthers. S. P. (Editor)
- Publisher
- Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading
- Year
- 1986
- ISBN
- 0704909820
- Description
- Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.
].
A fibre obtained from the stems is used for making paper[
189- Title
- Plant Fibres for Papermaking.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Bell. L. A.
- Publisher
- Liliaceae Press
- Year
- 1988
- ISBN
- 0962507628
- Description
- A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.
]. The stems are harvested in late summer after the seed has been harvested, they are cut into usable pieces and soaked in clear water for 24 hours. They are then cooked for 2 hours in lye or soda ash and then beaten in a ball mill for 1½ hours in a ball mill. The fibres make a green-tan paper[
189- Title
- Plant Fibres for Papermaking.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Bell. L. A.
- Publisher
- Liliaceae Press
- Year
- 1988
- ISBN
- 0962507628
- Description
- A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.
].
The starch from the seed is used for laundering, sizing textiles etc[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
61- Title
- A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Usher. G.
- Publisher
- Constable
- Year
- 1974
- ISBN
- 0094579202
- Description
- Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
]. It can also be converted to alcohol for use as a fuel.
Propagation
Seed - sow early spring or autumn in situ and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within a few days[
K- Title
- Plants for a Future
- Author
- Ken Fern
- Description
- Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
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Useful Temperate Plants Database 2016 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
