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.

Description

A cereal. It is a grass, like wheat. It grows 60-180 cm tall. The leaf blade can be erect or nodding. The seeds or kernels are about 3 times the size of ordinary wheat.

Edible Uses

The seed is cooked and most commonly ground into flour for use as a cereal, particularly for making macaroni, spaghetti, and vermicelli.

Traditional Uses

The seeds are used along with wheat to make pastas, puffed cereals, biscuits and bread. It can also be used for macaroni, spaghetti and vermicelli.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

None known

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Argentina, Asia, Canada, Central Asia, China, India, Middle East, North America, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, South America, Southern Africa, Tajikistan, Tibet, USA,

Cultivation

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. It is not very high yielding. A tetraploid species, it is not much grown outside Britain.

Propagation

Sow seed in early spring or autumn directly in situ, barely covering it. Germination should occur within a few days.

Other Uses

The straw serves many purposes, including as a biomass fuel, thatching material, and garden mulch. Fibre extracted from the stems can be used to make paper: stems are harvested in late summer after seed collection, cut into usable pieces, soaked in clear water for 24 hours, cooked for 2 hours in lye or soda ash, then beaten in a ball mill for 1½ hours, producing a green-tan paper. Starch from the seed is used for laundering and sizing textiles, and can also be converted to alcohol for use as a fuel.

Other Information

It is cultivated commercially for the health food market.

Notes

It has good quantities of folic acid and iron. It is low in gluten.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Kamut

References (17)

• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 654
• Belay, G., 2006. Triticum turgidum L. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Brink, M. & Belay, G. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 23 October 200
• Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 183
• Feldman, M., 1979, Wheats, in Simmonds N.W.,(ed), Crop Plant Evolution. Longmans. London. p 120
• Flora of Pakistan. www.eFloras.org

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