
Cereal grains, including wild rice (Zizania), wheat (Triticum), rice (Oryza), corn (Zea), oats (Avena), barley (Hordeum), millet (Echinochloa) and rye (Secale), are grasses cultivated for their edible seeds. They belong to the Poaceae family, along with bamboo. The first cereal grains, including wheat and barley, were domesticated about 12,000 years ago by farming communities in the fertile crescent region of southwest Asia. Whole (unrefined) grains […]