Back to main Search Page

Triticum monococcum - L.

Einkorn

Author	L.	Botanical references	50, 266
Family	Gramineae	Genus	Triticum
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Original habitat is obscure.
Habitat	Developed through cultivation, it is not known in a truly wild location.
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	0 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 1m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Seed.

Seed - cooked[46, 50, 57, 61]. It is usually ground into a flour and used as a cereal[183]. It is not very suitable for bread making[74] (this probably means that it is low in gluten). Retains its glumes when threshed making utilization of the seed more difficult[74, 105].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

None known

Other Uses

Biomass; Mulch; Paper; Starch; Thatching.

The straw has many uses, as a biomass for fuel etc, for thatching, as a mulch in the garden etc[141]. A fibre obtained from the stems is used for making paper[189]. The stems are harvested in late summer after the seed has been harvested, they are cut into usable pieces and soaked in clear water for 24 hours. They are then cooked for 2 hours in lye or soda ash and then beaten in a ball mill for 1½ hours in a ball mill. The fibres make a green-tan paper[189]. The starch from the seed is used for laundering, sizing textiles etc[46, 61]. It can also be converted to alcohol for use as a fuel.

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most well-drained soils in a sunny position. A low yielding species[57], but it succeeds in poor rocky soils[57, 171] and thrives in a short growing season[160]. This is supposedly the oldest species of wheat, it probably arose over 10,000 years ago and is still occasionally cultivated for its edible seed in the mountains of Germany, Switzerland and Italy[50, 61, 183]. A diploid species[142].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring or autumn in situ and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within a few days[K].

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man. 0
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[141] Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading 1986 ISBN 0704909820
Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.

[142] Brouk. B. Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press 1975 ISBN 0-12-136450-x
Readable but not very comprehensive.

[160] Natural Food Institute, Wonder Crops. 1987. 0
Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[189] Bell. L. A. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press 1988
A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Triticum monococcum

Tue Jul 15 2008

Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter - Genetic variations of gliadin and high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits in diploid ... [32K] Zhao-Cai Ma Yu-Ming Wei Ze-Hong Yan You-Liang , Nov 2007

Triticum monococcum

Tue Jul 15 2008

monococcum gliadin and high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits

Add a comment/link:

Discussion Monitor

To have posts to this page mailed to you enter your email address here:

(Your email address will not appear on the webpage or be passed on to third parties).