Editing Emmer (section)

== Description ==

[[File:usdaemmer2.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Harvested emmer has [[shattering (agriculture)|shattered]] into [[spikelet]]s, the husks remaining around the seeds.]]

Like [[einkorn]] (''T. monococcum'') and [[spelt]] (''T. spelta''), emmer is a hulled wheat, meaning it has strong [[glume]]s (husks) that enclose the grains, and a semibrittle [[rachis]]. On threshing, a hulled wheat spike [[shattering (agriculture)|breaks up]] into spikelets that require milling or pounding to release the grains from the glumes.<ref name="Amar 2015"/> Wild emmer spikelets effectively self-cultivate by propelling themselves mechanically into soils with their [[awn (botany)|awns]].  During a period of increased humidity during the night, the awns of the spikelet become erect and draw together, and in the process push the grain into the soil.  During the daytime, the humidity drops and the awns slacken back again; however, fine silica hairs on the awns act as hooks in the soil and prevent the spikelets from backing out. During the course of alternating stages of daytime drying and nighttime humidity, the awns' pumping movements, which resemble a swimming [[frog kick]], will drill the spikelet {{convert|25|mm|in|0|abbr=off}} or more into the soil.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Elbaum |first1=Rivka |last2=Zaltzman |first2=Liron |last3=Burgert |first3=Ingo |last4=Fratzl |first4=Peter |year=2007 |title=The Role of Wheat Awns in the Seed Dispersal Unit |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=316 |issue=5826 |pages=884–886 |doi=10.1126/science.1140097 |pmid=17495170 |bibcode=2007Sci...316..884E |s2cid=42898148 }}</ref>{{clear left}}