Plants in Israel: Ovate goat-grass
Aegilops geniculata, Aegilops ovata, Ovate goat-grass,
Hebrew: בן-חיטה ביצני, Arabic: دوسر ركبي
| Scientific name: | Aegilops geniculata Roth | |
| Synonym name: | Aegilops ovata L. | |
| Common name: | Ovate goat-grass | |
| Hebrew name: | בן-חיטה ביצני | |
| Arabic name: | دوسر ركبي | |
| Family: | Graminea (Poaceae), Grass Family, משפחת הדגניים |
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| Life form: | Annual | |
| Stems: | Numerous stems, up to 30 (-40)cm | |
| Leaves: | Alternate, entire, hairy or glabrous, sheats glabrous, margin smooth | |
| Inflorescence: | Spike 1-2cm (excluding awns) | |
| Flowers: | Polygamous, green | |
| Fruits / pods: | Caryopsis ellipsoid, longitudinally grooved, hilum long-linear, hairy at apex | |
| Flowering Period: | March, April, May | |
| Habitat: | Batha, Phrygana | |
| Distribution: | Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon | |
| Chorotype: | Mediterranean | |
| Summer shedding: | Ephemeral |
 Derivation of the botanical name: Aegilops, from the Greek aegilos (a herb liked by goats, or a goat), with ‘goatlike’ (referring to whiskery-awned spikelets), literally, “goat in the eye”.
geniculata, bent sharply like a knee.
Wild wheat (Tricium dicoccum) was formed from the hybridization of two ancient species that naturally occurred 500-300,000 years ago. During domestication, another hybrid was created between wild wheat and another species of oats with seven pairs of chromosomes, referred to as “Aegilops tauschii”. This wheat, after other and smaller changes, became the bread wheat we now know.  |