Triticum turgidum

Triticum turgidum (with its various subspecies being known as pasta wheat, macaroni wheat and durum wheat) 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.

Triticum turgidum
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Pooideae
Genus:	Triticum
Species:	T. turgidum
Binomial name
Triticum turgidum L.
Synonyms[2]
List Gigachilon polonicum subsp. turgidum (L.) Á.Löve in Feddes Repert. 95: 497 (1984) Triticum aestivum var. turgidum (L.) Fiori in A.Fiori & al., Fl. Anal. Italia 1: 108 (1896) Triticum aestivum subsp. turgidum (L.) Cout. in Fl. Portugal: 99 (1913) Triticum cereale var. turgidum (L.) Klett & Richt. in Fl. Leipzig: 118 (1830) Triticum cereale var. turgidum (L.) Baumg. in Enum. Stirp. Transsilv. 3: 266 (1816) Triticum durum subsp. turgidum (L.) Dorof. in Sel'skokhoz. Biol. 3: 456 (1968) Triticum polonicum var. turgidum (L.) Pers. in Syn. Pl. 1: 109 (1805) Triticum sativum var. turgidum (L.) Delile in Descr. Egypte, Hist. Nat. 2(Mém.): 53, 177 (1813) Triticum sativum subsp. turgidum (L.) K.Richt. in Pl. Eur. 1: 129 (1890), nom. illeg. Triticum vulgare convar. turgidum (L.) Alef. in Landw. Fl.: 325 (1866) Triticum vulgare var. turgidum (L.) Spreng. in Syst. Veg., ed. 16. 1: 323 (1824) Triticum vulgare subsp. turgidum (L.) Bonnier & Layens in Tabl. Syn. Pl. Vasc. France: 370 (1894)

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.^[3][4]

Distribution

It is native to the countries of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, North Caucasus (parts of Russia), Syria, Israel, Transcaucasus (or South Caucasus; Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan), Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Xinjiang, China.^[2]

It has been introduced into many places, including within Europe (Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Corsica, Crete, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, East Aegean Islands, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Madeira, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and Yugoslavia); Africa (in Algeria, Canary Islands, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Zimbabwe); Central Asia (Afghanistan, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, West Himalaya and Yemen); parts of Russia (Central European Russia, Crimea, East European Russia, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, South European Russia and West Siberia); Asia (Assam, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Tibet); and parts of America (within Alberta (Canada), Honduras (South America), Manitoba (Canada), Mexico (northeast and northwestern), New York (US), Ontario and Saskatchewan (Canada)).^[2]

Accepted subspecies

There are 8 subspecies as accepted by Plants of the World Online:^[2]

• Triticum turgidum subsp. carthlicum (Nevski) Á.Löve
• Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccoides (Asch. & Graebn.) Thell.
• Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum (Schrank ex Schübl.) Thell. (Emmer)
• Triticum turgidum subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn. (Durum wheat)
• Triticum turgidum subsp. georgicum (Dekapr. & Menabde) Mackey ex Hanelt
• Triticum turgidum subsp. polonicum (L.) Thell.
• Triticum turgidum subsp. turanicum (Jakubz.) Á.Löve (Khurasan Wheat)^[5]
• 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 (Nevo et al., 1992).^[6]

Triticum turgidum subsp. durum (2n = 28, AABB) is the most commonly cultivated form of allotetraploid wheat and is grown on 8% of the world’s wheat area (FAOStat,^[7]). It originated in the Mediterranean region and is used to make pasta and semolina products (Ren et al).^[8]

Triticum turgidum subsp. turanicum is usually ground into a flour and used as a cereal for making bread, biscuits etc.^[5][9]

References

1. Zair, W. & Magos Brehm, J. (2017). "Triticum turgidum Wild Emmer". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T71786841A71786853. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T71786841A71786853.en.
2. "Triticum turgidum L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
3. Morrison, Laura A. (2001). "The Percival Herbarium and wheat taxonomy: yesterday, today, and tomorrow" (PDF). The Linnean. 3. The Linnean Society of London: 65–80.
4. "Triticum turgidum L. rivet wheat". Retrieved 5 October 2023.
5. "Triticum turgidum turanicum Khurasan Wheat PFAF Plant Database". pfaf.org. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
6. Nevo, E. (1992). "Origin, evolution, population genetics and resources for breeding of wild barley, Hordeum spontaneum, in the Fertile Crescent.". In Shewry, P. R. (ed.). Barley: genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology and biotechnology. Oxford.: C.A.B. International, the Alden Press. pp. 19–43.
7. Faostat, F. (2016). FAOSTAT statistical database. Rome: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
8. Ren, J.; Sun, D.; Chen, L.; You, F. M.; Wang, J.; Peng, Y.; Nevo, E.; Sun, D.; Luo, M.-C.; Peng, J. (2013). "Genetic diversity revealed by single nucleotide polymorphism markers in a worldwide germplasm collection of durum wheat". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 14 (4): 7061–7088. doi:10.3390/ijms14047061. PMC 3645677. PMID 23538839.
9. Facciola, S. (1990). Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications. ISBN 0-9628087-0-9.