Common wheat

Common wheat, Triticum aestivum, (also known as bread wheat) is a cultivated wheat species. Numerous forms of wheat have evolved under human selection. This diversity has led to confusion in the naming of wheats, with names based on both genetic and morphological characteristics. For more information, see the taxonomy of wheat. Bread wheat is an allohexaploid (an allopolyploid with six sets of chromosomes, two sets from each of three different sp... More

Common wheat, Triticum aestivum, (also known as bread wheat) is a cultivated wheat species. Numerous forms of wheat have evolved under human selection. This diversity has led to confusion in the naming of wheats, with names based on both genetic and morphological characteristics. For more information, see the taxonomy of wheat. Bread wheat is an allohexaploid (an allopolyploid with six sets of chromosomes, two sets from each of three different species). Free-threshing wheat is closely related to spelt. As with spelt, genes contributed from goatgrass (Aegilops tauschii) give wheat bread greater cold hardiness than most wheats, and it is cultivated throughout the world's temperate regions. Common wheat was first domesticated in Western Asia during the early Holocene, and spread from there to North Africa, Europe and East Asia in the prehistoric period. Wheat first reached North America with Spanish missions in the 16th century, but North America's role as a major exporter of grain dates...

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