emmer wheat

plant

Also known as: Triticum dicoccon, farro

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Last updated

June 26, 2026

Quick Summary

Emmer, also known as Triticum dicoccum, is an ancient type of wheat. It is a tetraploid wheat, meaning it has four sets of chromosomes. Emmer has hard red grains that remain enclosed in their husks (glumes) even after threshing. This grain is also referred to as farro.1

Wild emmer (Triticum dicoccoides) is an ancestor of modern cultivated wheat varieties and is the wild counterpart to emmer. It is native to the Middle East. Emmer has been cultivated in regions including Southwest Asia, Northeast Africa, and Europe.21

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Poaceae
Economic and ecological importance
In one of these, emmer wheat (T. dicoccon), the grain is tightly clasped by the hull (lemma and palea), a characteristic of wild species that depend on the hull for dispersal. Threshing and winnowing—the separation of chaff from grain—is far easier when the hull separates freely from the grain,…
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In one of these, emmer wheat (T. dicoccon), the grain is tightly clasped by the hull (lemma and palea), a characteristic of wild species that depend on the hull for dispersal. Threshing and winnowing—the separation of chaff from grain—is far easier when the hull separates freely from the grain,…
Read More

origins of agriculture
Europe
Wild emmer may have grown in the area at the time; it is not clear whether it was domesticated locally or had been brought in from Southwest Asia. The same may be true for lentils and grass peas (Pisum species). Shortly after 9000 bp sheep, goats,…
Read More
Wild emmer may have grown in the area at the time; it is not clear whether it was domesticated locally or had been brought in from Southwest Asia. The same may be true for lentils and grass peas (Pisum species). Shortly after 9000 bp sheep, goats,…
Read More