Triticum spelta

(L.) Thell.

Dinkel wheat, Spelt

PoaceaeSeeds/NutsPotential hazards — see below

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds, Cereal

Seeds are eaten cooked, typically ground into flour for use in cereals, bread, muffins, and cookies. The seeds can also be roasted as a coffee substitute.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It needs well drained soil. It needs to be in a sunny position. It can grow on poor soils. It is often grown in areas of extreme climate. Under low temperatures and soil moisture shortage spelt can still yield well.

Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Europe, Finland, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Mediterranean, Middle East, North America, Scandinavia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tasmania, USA,

Countries: Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Brunei, Bahamas, Bhutan, Belarus, Belize, Canada, Switzerland, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Estonia, Egypt, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Grenada, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Malta, Maldives, Mexico, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Oman, Panama, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, San Marino, El Salvador, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Taiwan, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

An annual grass plant. It is related to wheat. It grows to 1 m high. The ears are slender, long, lax and somewhat four sided. The spikelets have 2 grains. The grains are long, pointed and flinty.

How to Grow

Seed is sown just below the soil surface as spring approaches. Seed germinate in a few days. Seeding rates of 90-112 kg/ha are recommended.

Production

It takes 6-7 months to reach maturity and seeds ripen by 8-9 months. The spelt kernels do not thresh free of the glumes. There have been wide variations in yield (7000-1000 kg/ha), test weight (462-315 kg/m3), days to heading (154-166 days), plant height (97-140 cm), and kernel protein content (15.8-19.2%). Spelt yields are given as harvested with the kernel in the hull, and kernel yield only as estimated for a 60% kernel weight thresh out.

Other Information

It is a cultivated food plant.

Notes

It has higher protein than wheat. Spelt is a hexaploid plant (AABBDD) having 6 sets of chromosomes from 3 different origins. Some of the earliest recordings of spelt appear in the Bible (Exodus 9:30, Isaiah 28:25, and Ezekiel 4:9)

Names & Synonyms

Farro, Hulled wheat, Pira, Speltz

Spelta vulgaris Ser.Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta (L.) Thell.Triticum aestivum var. spelta (L.) L. H. BaileyTriticum arias ClementeTriticum elymoides Hornem.Triticum forskalei ClementeTriticum palmovae G. I. IvanovTriticum spelta var. several namesTriticum speltiforme Seidl. ex OpizTriticum zea HostZeia spelta Host[or Triticum aestivum Spelta Group]

References (15)

Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 654 (As Triticum spelta)
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 182 (As Triticum spelta)
Feldman, M., 1979, Wheats, in Simmonds N.W.,(ed), Crop Plant Evolution. Longmans. London. p 120 (As Triticum spelta)
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 657 (As Triticum spelta)
http://www.botanic-gardens-ljubljana.com/en/plants
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 10 (As Triticum spelta)
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 881
Kiple, K.F. & Ornelas, K.C., (eds), 2000, The Cambridge World History of Food. CUP p 1856 (As Triticum spelta)
Naturwiss. Wochenschr. 17:471. 1918
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Purseglove, J.W., 1972, Tropical Crops. Monocotyledons. Longmans p 290 (As Triticum spelta)
USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Available: www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/econ.pl (10 April 2000)
Vaughan, J. C. & Geissler, C. A., 2009, The new Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press. p 4
Wiersema, J. H. & Leon, B., 2013, World Economic Plants. A Standard Reference CRC Press. 2nd Ed. p 699
Zeven, A. C. & de West, J. M. J., 1982, Dictionary of cultivated plants and their regions of diversity. Wageningen. p 93