Relatives

Aegilops triuncialis L. - Barb goatgrass.

Taxonomic position.

Family Poaceae Barnh. genus Aegilops L.

Synonyms.

Aegilops squarrosa L., A. triaristata Willd., A. ovata L. subsp. triaristata (Willd.) Jav., Triticum triunciale (L.) Raspail

Morphology and biology.

Annual herbaceous plant, 20-45 cm high. Stems are in most cases erect. Leaves are linear, flat. Blades, ligules and the upper part of sheaths are ciliate. Ears are (3) 3.5-7 cm long (not counting awns), with 4-5 (less frequently with 3 or 6) fully developed spikelets; under fruits would break at their base and fall off entirely. At the bottom of the ear there are 2-3 rudimentary spikelets.
Spikelet glumes are oblong, ovate or obovate, less than twice shorter than the adjacent lemmata, cartilaginous-leathery, with 7-13 broad veins, scabrous or shortly pilose, topped with 2-3 awns slightly deviated from the ear axis. Glumes of the topmost spikelet are 4.5-6 mm long. Ribs of the ear axis are often covered with sharp knobs only, without longer prickles. Kernels do not accrete to paleae.
Wind- and self-pollinated plant. Autochore. Propagated by seed. Blossoms in May; bears fruit in June. 2n=28.

Distribution.

Crimea, Caucasus (Daghestan, Eastern and Southern Transcaucasia, Talysh), Middle Asia (river valleys of Syr-Darya and Amu-Darya in their upper course, western Tien Shan, Gissar-Darvaz, Kopet Dagh), Mediterranean region, Asia Minor and Iran. Ecdemic in many other extratropical countries.

Ecology.

Ephemeron. Drought-resistant. Grows in semi-deserts, on stony and small-grained soils, gravels, near roads, as a weed on field edges and laylands, as well as over foothills reaching the lower mountain zone.

Utilization and economic value.

Fodder plant. Consumed well by all kinds of livestock until the fruiting phase. May be utilized by breeders in hybridization with wheat.

References:

Eig A. 1929. Monographisch-kritische Ubersicht der Gattung Aegilops. Feddes Repertorium Specierum novarum regni vegetabilis Beih, 55:1-228. (in Germany)
Gandilyan, P.A. 1978. Toward the taxonomy of the genus Aegilops L. and the classifier of its species. Biological Journal of Armenia, vol. 31, iss.3, pp. 223-232 (in Russian).
Slageren M. W. van. 1994. Wild wheats: a monograph of Aegilops L. and Amblyopyrum (Jaub. & Spach) Eig (Poaceae). Wageningen Agriculture University Papers 1994 (7). 513 pp.
Tsvelev, N.N. 1976. Cereal grasses of the USSR. Leningrad, Nauka, 788 pp. (in Russian).
Zhukovsky, P.M. 1928. Critique and taxonomic survey of Aegilops L. species. Works on Applied Botany, Genetics and Plant Breeding, vol.18, iss.1, pp. 417-609 (in Russian).

© I.G.Chukhina.