Triticum

Triticum Taxonomy

Wheat belongs to the genus Triticum, for which there are 10 species, six which are cultivated and four which are not. The most economically important species, T. aestivum, has five subspecies (18, 19).

Common wheat, sp.
Kingdom: Plantae - Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta - Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida - Monocotyledons
Subclass: Commelinidae
Order: Cyperales
Family: Poaceae - Grass family
Genus: Triticum - wheat
Species: Triticum aestivum - common wheat

There are many taxonomic classification systems used for wheat species, which causes confusion and controversy between researchers (1, 14). For instance, one area of controversy is in genus classification. Some people classify it as one large genus (Triticum sensu lato), while others classify wheat as two separate genera (Triticum and Aegilops). There are several sources on this issue. See also:

Triticeae Taxonomy on GrainGenes
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Taxonomy Browser - Triticum aestivum
Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) Taxonomy for Triticum aestivum

References:

1. Wikipedia, November 2005. Wheat & Neolithic entries from Wikipedia
2. International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center, Nov 2005. International Wheat Improvement Network (IWIN)
3. K. Edwards, G. Jellis, S. Shepherd, G. Barker, & J. Parker. Nov 2005. Wheat, the Big Picture
4. Delacy, I. & Micallef, S., Nov 2005. < a href="http://mendel.lafs.uq.edu.au:8080/ICIS5/".The Global Wheat Information System (GWIS), The University of Queensland,
5. Beuerlein, J., 2001. Classes and Uses of Wheat: Fact Sheet
6. WholeHealthMD.com, LLC., 2000. Foods: Wheat.
7. Oracle Education Foundation, Nov 2005. Where Wheat is Grown. Article written for Thinquest Junior Competition.
8. Wroot, S., Pinkersgall, D., and "Oz", (2001). The History of Wheat.
9. "Oz", 2001. Modern Wheat: Wheat Characteristics and Useage.
10. Wroot, S., 2003. Wheat - structure and genetics.
11. History of Wheat. from http://shopping.netledger.com/s.nl/c.ACCT140751/sc.5/category.-105/it.I/id.4/.f
12. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2005. Wheat Columbia University Press.
13. USDA-NRCS, 2005. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov) Data compiled from various sources by Mark W Skinner. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
14. Nov 2005. GWIS - Global Wheat Information System
15. Matthews, D. (Accessed Nov 2005) Wheat Synonymy Tables Project
16. FAOSTAT, 2005. Crops Primary data last updated July 14, 2005, Food Supply Data last updated Aug 27, 2004.
17. Nov 2005. US Wheat Associates. "Wheat Classes"
18. USDA, ARS, Nov 2005. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. 12442
19. [http://wire.ndsu.nodak.edu/] Wheat Information Resource (WIRE)