The Evolution of Wheat - Goat Grass (2)

The second Goat Grass involved in the evolution of wheat was Aegilops tauschii. This has a seed spike that fragments into separate barrel-shaped sections when ripe, each with a very hard 'hull'.

This Goat Grass was important in the evolution of bread wheat, hybridising with Cultivated Emmer about 9,000 years ago (9,000 BP) to form Spelt. The Goat Grass contributed genes to the hybrid Spelt genome that included some controlling the amount of gluten protein, a substance necessary for good bread making.