Gallery

Wild emmer (Triticum dicoccoides) at Mt. Gilboa

A mixed stand of Triticum dicoccoides, Hordeum spontaneum, Hordeum bulbosum, Avena sterilis and Aegilops geniculata at Mt. Gilboa in early May 2019

Wild emmer ripens when most other large-seeded grasses have shed their spikelets

Dense stands of Aegilops geniculata intermixed with Avena sterilis at Mt. Gilboa

Grasslands harbouring Triticum dicoccoides, Hordeum spontaneum and Avena sterilis north of the Sea of Galilee near Kahal

Wild emmer (Triticum dicoccoides) near Kahal

Wild emmer (Triticum dicoccoides) associated with Linum pubescens near Kahal

Grasslands harbouring Triticum dicoccoides, Hordeum spontaneum and Avena sterilis near Kahal in early May 2019 when the grains are fully ripe and most species have shed their spikelets

A brittle ear of wild emmer (Triticum dicoccoides) at Kahal after shedding most spikelets

Wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum) in the Upper Galilee associated with facultative weeds such as Chrysanthemum coronarium (developing fruits) and Notobasis syriaca (flowering)

Maturing (green) and fully ripe (yellow) ears of Hordeum spontaneum

Ear of Hordeum bulbosum, which is regularly associated with the wild progenitor species

The thickened, tuber-like lower culm nodes of Hordeum bulbosum

Hordeum glaucum grows in highly disturbed open places and normally not among the large-seeded wild cereals

Aegilops geniculata forming large monodominant stands near of Rosh Pina in the Upper Galilee Mountains

Flowering ears of Aegilops geniculata

Avena sterilis flowering near Rosh Pina in the Upper Galilee Mountains

Ripe Avena sterilis spikelets

Harvesting grains by swinging a basket through ripe fruit heads works well for panicle grasses such as Avena sterilis. Note the spikelets of Hordeum spontaneum in the harvest

Poa bulbosa can be associated with wild cereal stands (here near Rosh Pina in the Upper Galilee). Charred bulbils have been found at early Neolithic sites such as Jerf el Ahmar (Syria) or Chogha Golan (Iran)

Wild cereals (T. dicoccoides, A. sterilis, H. spontaneum, Ae. peregrina) closely associated with Trifolium purpureum, Anthemis palaestina, Eryngium creticum and Echinops gaillardotii near Safed in the Upper Galilee

Many wild emmer populations in the Levant develop black ears like these individuals near Safed

Mixed stands of Triticum dicoccoides, Hordeum spontaneum and Avena sterilis near Tabgha at the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee in early May 2017. These stands structurally resemble cultivated fields