Araratian wild emmer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Araratian wild emmer
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Pooideae
Genus:	Triticum
Species:	T. araraticum
Binomial name
Triticum araraticum Jakubz
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Triticum araraticum is a special kind of wild wheat. You might also hear it called Araratian wild emmer or Armenian wild emmer. This plant is a "tetraploid" species. This means its cells have four sets of chromosomes, which are like tiny instruction manuals for living things. T. araraticum is one of the least studied types of wheat in the world.

How This Wheat Appeared

The T. araraticum species likely came from a natural mix of two other plants: T. boeoticum and Aegilops speltoides.

T. araraticum looks a lot like the farmed wheat called T. timopheevii. They are similar in how they look, the type of cytoplasm in their cells, and the amount of DNA they have. Because they are so alike, some scientists who study plants believe T. araraticum could be a type of T. timopheevii.

In 1988, scientists used a special method called C-banding to study different kinds of T. araraticum. This method showed that T. araraticum has a genetic makeup known as AAGG.

Where This Wheat Grows

The araraticum type of T. araraticum mainly grows in several countries. These include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey.

Another type, called kurdistanicum, grows in Iraq and nearby areas of Iran and Turkey.

In Armenia, you can find this wheat in specific villages. These are Voghjaberd and Vedi near the capital city of Yerevan. It also grows in the villages of Areni, Arpi, and Aghavnadzor in the Vayots Dzor Province.