Triticum turgidum


Triticum turgidum is a species of wheat. It is an annual and grows primarily in temperate areas and is native to countries around the eastern Mediterranean, down to Iran and east to Xinjiang, China.

Taxonomy

It was first published and described by Carl Linnaeus in his book Species Plantarum on page 86 in 1753.
It is known as rivet wheat.

Distribution

It is native to the countries of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, North Caucasus, Syria, Palestine, Transcaucasus, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Xinjiang, China.
It has been introduced into many places, including within Europe ; Africa ; Central Asia ; parts of Russia ; Asia ; and parts of America, Honduras, Manitoba, Mexico, New York, Ontario and Saskatchewan ).

Accepted subspecies

There are 8 subspecies as accepted by Plants of the World Online:
  • Triticum turgidum subsp. carthlicum
  • Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccoides
  • Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum
  • Triticum turgidum subsp. durum
  • Triticum turgidum subsp. georgicum
  • Triticum turgidum subsp. polonicum
  • Triticum turgidum subsp. turanicum
  • Triticum turgidum subsp. turgidum
Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccoides is thought to be the wild progenitor of cultivated tetraploid wheat. It is distributed over large areas of the Middle East which have dry and saline soils.
Triticum turgidum subsp. durum is the most commonly cultivated form of allotetraploid wheat and is grown on 8% of the world's wheat area. It originated in the Mediterranean region and is used to make pasta and semolina products.
Triticum turgidum subsp. turanicum is usually ground into a flour and used as a cereal for making bread, biscuits etc.