Author: آمنه غلامی 
Aegilops crassa Boiss.
Parvin Salehi Shanjani, Leila Rasoulzadeh, Hamideh Javadi
and Mohammad Amini Rad
Natural Resources Gene Bank, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Tehran, Iran.
Uploaded at September 2022
Scientific editor: Masoumeh Izadpanah
Seed Storage
Storage behavior of this species is orthodox (desiccation-tolerant seeds); dry to 15-20% eRH and store at -20°C.
Germination requirements
Seeds do not have physiological and physical dormancy and are easily able to germinate. Sterilize and germinate seeds under a constant temperature regime of 20 ºC and 16/8 hr. light/dark photoperiod.
Morphology
Fruit/seed type: Caryopsis, adhering to the lemmas and paleas.
Fruit/seed shape: Lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate, planoconvex, ventral side longitudinally furrowed, apex slightly hairy, hilum oval. Surface longitudinally striate, slightly lustrous, straw color.
Fruit/seed size: Length 7 to 8.3 mm, width 2.2 to 3.2 mm in an accession from North Khorasan, with 1000 seeds (caryopsis with lemmas and paleas) weight 54.4 g, which was collected in 1993, and the cultivated sample was identified by Mohamad Aminirad with an accession number of 1310.
1000 Fruit/ seed (caryopsis with lemmas and paleas) weight: 50 to 82 g
Biological features
Life form: Annual, culms 30-50 cm, erect to slightly geniculate, with few to many tillers.
Inflorescences, flower type, and pollination mechanisms: Inflorescences terminal spikes, (4.5) 6-10 (13) cm long, 0.5-0.7 cm wide, moniliform, with (4) 6-12 fertile spikelets; rudimentary spikelets usually absent, occasionally 1-2; disarticulation in the rachises, the spikelets falling attached to the internodes above; spikelets 7-14 mm long, 4-7 mm wide, ovate, pubescent, with 4-7 florets, the distal 2 florets sterile; glumes 7-10 mm, coriaceous to appressed-velutinous, 2-3-toothed; lemmas of lower spikelets 8-10 mm, toothed, usually awned; lemmas of apical spikelets awned, awns 3-8.5 cm, usually diverging. Flower hermaphrodite, plant monoecious, cross-pollinated. Pollination is carried out by the wind.
Time of flowering: Spring
Time of seed ripening: Mid-spring to early summer
Seed dispersal methods: By weight or livestock
Geographical distribution: Endemic of Middle East (Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syrian Arab Republic, and Turkey), Asia (Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), and Europe (Spain)
Distribution in Iran: West, mostly in provinces of Lorestan, Ilam, and Alborz
Taxonomy
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Aegilops
Species: A. crassa
Persian name: Gandomniaye zakhim
References and Links
Saufferer, S. M. 1993. Aegilops. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. Flora of North America North of Mexico [Online]. New York and Oxford. Vol. 24. http://beta.floranorthamerica.org. Accessed 2021.
Terrell, E. and Peterson, P. 1993. Caryopsis Morphology and Classification in the Triticeae (Pooideae: Poaceae). Smithsonian Contributions to Botany. 83. 10.5479/si.0081024X.83.
Cabi, E. 2010. Taxonomic Revision of the Tribe Triticeae Dumortier (Poaceae) in Turkey.Ph.D. – Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University.
Bojňanský, V. and Fargašová, A. 2007. Atlas of seeds and fruits of central and East-European flora: the Carpathian Mountains region. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1046 pp.
Ghahraman, A. Flore of Iran. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands with University of Tehran Publication. https://floraofiran.net/index.php.
Mozaffarian, V. 2012. A Pictorial Dictionary of Botany. Farhange Moaser publisher, 1088 pp.
Mozaffarian, V.A. 1998. Dictionary of Iranian Plants Names. Moaser Publisher, Tehran Farhang, 671 pp.
Sharma, O.P. 2009. Plant taxonomy 2E. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New Delhi, 563 pp.
