1.
Solstice
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The Solstice occurs twice each year as the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. The seasons of the year are directly connected to both the solstices and the equinoxes, the term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the day when this occurs. The day of the solstice has either the most sunlight of the year or the least sunlight of the year for any other than the equator. Alternative terms, with no ambiguity as to which hemisphere is the context, are June solstice and December solstice, at latitudes outside the tropics, the summer solstice marks the day when the sun appears highest in the sky. Within the tropics, the sun directly overhead from days to months before the solstice and again after the solstice. For an observer on the North Pole, the sun reaches the highest position in the sky once a year in June, the day this occurs is called the June solstice day. Similarly, for an observer on the South Pole, the sun reaches the highest position on December solstice day, when it is the summer solstice at one Pole, it is the winter solstice on the other. The suns westerly motion never ceases as the Earth is continually in rotation, however, the suns motion in declination comes to a stop at the moment of solstice. In that sense, solstice means sun-standing and this modern scientific word descends from a Latin scientific word in use in the late Roman republic of the 1st century BC, solstitium. Pliny uses it a number of times in his Natural History with a meaning that it has today. It contains two Latin-language morphemes, sol, sun, and -stitium, stoppage, the Romans used standing to refer to a component of the relative velocity of the Sun as it is observed in the sky. Relative velocity is the motion of an object from the point of view of an observer in a frame of reference, from a fixed position on the ground, the sun appears to orbit around the Earth. To an observer in a frame of reference, the planet Earth is seen to rotate about an axis. The Earths axis is tilted with respect to the plane of the Earths orbit, an observer on Earth therefore sees a solar path that is the result of both rotation and revolution. At maximum or minimum elevation, the relative motion of the Sun perpendicular to the horizon stops. Outside of the tropics, the maximum occurs at the summer solstice. The path of the Sun, or ecliptic, sweeps north and south between the northern and southern hemispheres, the days are longer around the summer solstice and shorter around the winter solstice. When the Suns path crosses the equator, the length of the nights at latitudes +L° and -L° are of equal length and this is known as an equinox
2.
Lathyrus
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Lathyrus /ˈlæθᵻrəs/ is a genus in the legume family Fabaceae and contains approximately 160 species. They are native to areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe,30 species in North America,78 in Asia,24 in tropical East Africa. There are annual and perennial species which may be climbing or bushy and this genus has numerous sections, including Orobus, which was once a separate genus. Many species are cultivated as garden plants, the genus includes the garden sweet pea and the perennial everlasting pea. Flowers on these species may be rose, red, maroon, pink, white, yellow, purple or blue. They are also grown for their fragrance, cultivated species are susceptible to fungal infections including downy and powdery mildew. Other species are grown for food, including the Indian pea and the red pea, the tuberous pea is grown as a root vegetable for its starchy edible tuber. The seeds of some Lathyrus species contain the amino acid oxalyldiaminopropionic acid and if eaten in large quantities can cause lathyrism. Lathyrus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the Grey Chi, calflora Database, Lathyrus species index Jepson Flora Project, Key to Lathyrus
3.
Clover
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Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus Trifolium, consisting of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. They are small annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herbaceous plants. The leaves are trifoliate, with adnate to the leaf-stalk, and heads or dense spikes of small red, purple, white, or yellow flowers. Other closely related genera often called clovers include Melilotus and Medicago, several species of clover are extensively cultivated as fodder plants. The most widely cultivated clovers are white clover Trifolium repens and red clover Trifolium pratense, in many areas, particularly on acidic soil, clover is short-lived because of a combination of insect pests, diseases and nutrient balance, this is known as clover sickness. When crop rotations are managed so that clover does not recur at intervals shorter than eight years, clover sickness in more recent times may also be linked to pollinator decline, clovers are most efficiently pollinated by bumblebees, which have declined as a result of agricultural intensification. Honeybees can also pollinate clover, and beekeepers are often in demand from farmers with clover pastures. Farmers reap the benefits of increased reseeding that occurs with increased bee activity, beekeepers benefit from the clover bloom, as clover is one of the main nectar sources for honeybees. Trifolium repens, white or Dutch clover, is a perennial abundant in meadows, the flowers are white or pinkish, becoming brown and deflexed as the corolla fades. Trifolium hybridum, alsike or Swedish clover, is a perennial which was introduced early in the 19th century and has now become naturalized in Britain, the flowers are white or rosy, and resemble those of the last species. Trifolium medium, meadow or zigzag clover, a perennial with straggling flexuous stems, clovers occasionally have four leaflets, instead of the usual three. These four-leaf clovers, like other rarities, are considered lucky, clovers can also have five, six, or more leaflets, but these are rarer. The record for most leaflets is 56, set on 10 May 2009 and this beat the 21-leaf clover, a record set in June 2008 by the same discoverer, who had also held the prior Guinness World Record of 18. A common idiom is to be in clover, meaning to live a life of ease, comfort. The cloverleaf interchange is named for the resemblance to the leaflets of a clover when viewed from the air, quattrofolium Edibility of clover, Edible parts and visual identification of wild clover
4.
Rowan
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The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus Sorbus of the rose family Rosaceae. The name rowan was originally applied to the species Sorbus aucuparia and is used for other species in the Sorbus subgenus Sorbus. Rowans are unrelated to the ash trees, which belong to the genus Fraxinus, family Oleaceae. Formerly, when a variety of fruits were commonly eaten in Europe and North America. It is still used in countries, but Sorbus domestica, for example, is now all but extinct in Britain. Natural hybrids, often including Sorbus aucuparia and the whitebeam, Sorbus aria, the traditional names of the rowan are those applied to the species Sorbus aucuparia, Sorbus torminalis, and Sorbus domestica. The Latin name sorbus was borrowed into Old English as syrfe, the name service-tree for Sorbus domestica is derived from that name by folk etymology. The Latin name sorbus is from a root for red, reddish-brown, English sorb is attested from the 1520s in the fruit of the service tree. Sorbus domestica is also known as whitty pear, the adjective whitty meaning pinnate, Sorbus torminalis is also known as chequer tree, its fruits, formerly used to flavour beer, are called chequers, perhaps from the spotted pattern of the fruit. The name rowan is recorded from 1804, detached from an earlier rowan-tree, rountree, attested from the 1540s in northern dialects of English and Scots. It is from a North Germanic source, derived from Old Norse reynir, ultimately from the Germanic verb *raud-inan to redden, various dialectal variants of rowan are found in English, including ran, roan, rodan, royan, royne, round, rune. The Old English name of the rowan is cwic-beám, which survives in the name quickbeam, the Old Irish name is cairtheand, reflected in Modern Irish caorann. The arboreal Bríatharogam in the Book of Ballymote associates the rowan with the letter luis, with the gloss delightful to the eye is luis, i. e. rowan, owing to the beauty of its berries. Due to this, delight of the eye has been reported as a name of the rowan by some commentators, in the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia, this species is commonly referred to as a dogberry tree. In German, Sorbus aucuparia is known as the Vogelbeerbaum or as Eberesche, the Welsh name criafol refers to the tree as lamenting fruit, associating the red fruit with the blood of Christ, as Welsh tradition believed the Cross was carved from the wood of this tree. Rowans are mostly deciduous trees 10–20 m tall, though a few are shrubs. The leaves are arranged alternately, and are pinnate, with 11–35 leaflets, the flowers are borne in dense corymbs, each flower is creamy white, and 5–10 mm across with five petals. The fruit is a small pome 4–8 mm diameter, bright orange or red in most species, the fruit are soft and juicy, which makes them a very good food for birds, particularly waxwings and thrushes, which then distribute the rowan seeds in their droppings
5.
Quercus robur
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Quercus robur, commonly known as pedunculate oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family Fagaceae. It is native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus, the tree is widely cultivated in temperate regions and has escaped into the wild in scattered parts of China and North America. Quercus robur is the species of the genus, and a member of the white oak section Quercus section Quercus. The populations in Italy, southeast Europe, and Asia Minor, a close relative is the sessile oak, which shares much of its range. Q. robur is distinguished from this species by its leaves having only a short stalk 3–8 mm long. The two often hybridise in the wild, the hybrid being known as Quercus × rosacea, Q. robur should not be confused with Q. rubra, the red oak, which is a native of North America and only distantly related. Quercus robur is a deciduous tree, with circumference of grand oaks from 4 m to exceptional 12 m. The Majesty Oak with a circumference of 12.2 m is the thickest tree in Great Britain, Quercus robur has lobed and nearly sessile leaves 7–14 cm long. Flowering takes place in mid spring, and their fruit, called acorns, the acorns are 2–2.5 cm long, pedunculate with one to four acorns on each peduncle. Q. robur is very tolerant to soil conditions and the climate but it prefers fertile. It is a tree, with a large wide spreading crown of rugged branches. While it may live to an age of a few centuries, many of the oldest trees are pollarded or coppiced. Yet another can be found in Kvilleken, Sweden, that is over 1,000 years old and 14 metres around, of maiden specimens, one of the oldest is the great oak of Ivenack, Germany. Tree-ring research of this tree and other oaks nearby gives an age of 700 to 800 years. Also the Bowthorpe Oak in Lincolnshire, England is estimated to be 1,000 years old, making it the oldest in the UK, highest density of the grand oak trees Q. robur with a circumference 4 metres and more is in Latvia. Within its native range Q. robur is valued for its importance to insects, numerous insects live on the leaves, buds, and in the acorns. Q. robur supports the highest biodiversity of insect herbivores of any British plant, the acorns form a valuable food resource for several small mammals and some birds, notably Eurasian jays Garrulus glandarius. Mammals, notably squirrels who tend to hoard acorns and other nuts most often leave them too abused to grow in the action of moving or storing them
6.
Tilia
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Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Commonly called lime trees in the British Isles, they are not related to the lime fruit, other names include linden, and basswood for the North American species. The genus occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but the greatest species diversity is found in Asia, Tilia species are mostly large, deciduous trees, reaching typically 20 to 40 metres tall, with oblique-cordate leaves 6 to 20 centimetres across. As with elms, the number of species is uncertain, as many if not most of the species will hybridise readily. Limes are hermaphroditic, having perfect flowers with male and female parts, pollinated by insects. The genus is called lime or linden in Britain and linden, lime. Within Germanic languages, English lithe, German lind lenient, yielding are from the same root, neither the name nor the tree is related to the citrus fruit called lime. Another common name used in North America is basswood, derived from bast, teil is an old name for the lime tree. Latin tilia is cognate to Greek πτελέᾱ, ptelea, elm tree, τιλίαι, tiliai, black poplar, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European word *ptel-ei̯ā with a meaning of broad, perhaps broad-leaved or similar. The Tilias sturdy trunk stands like a pillar and the divide and subdivide into numerous ramifications on which the twigs are fine. In summer, these are profusely clothed with large leaves and the result is a head of abundant foliage. The flowers of the European and American Tilia species are similar, except the American bears a petal-like scale among its stamens, all of the Tilia species may be propagated by cuttings and grafting, as well as by seed. They grow rapidly in rich soil, but are subject to the attack of many insects, Tilia is notoriously difficult to propagate from seed unless collected fresh in the fall. If allowed to dry, the seeds will go into a deep dormancy, cars left under the trees can quickly become coated with a film of the syrup thus dropped from higher up. The ant/aphid farming process does not appear to any serious damage to the trees. In Europe, some linden trees reached considerable ages, a coppice of T. cordata in Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire is estimated to be 2,000 years old. In the courtyard of the Imperial Castle at Nuremberg is a Tilia which, by tradition recounted in 1900, was planted by the Empress Cunigunde, the Tilia of Neuenstadt am Kocher in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, was estimated at 1000 years old when it fell. The Alte Linde tree of Naters, Switzerland, is mentioned in a document in 1357, a plaque at its foot mentions that in 1155 a linden tree was already on this spot
7.
Birch
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A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae, the genus Betula contains 30 to 60 known taxa of which 11 are on the IUCN2011 Green List of Threatened Species. They are a typically rather short-lived pioneer species widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in northern temperate, Birch species are generally small to medium-sized trees or shrubs, mostly of northern temperate and boreal climates. The simple leaves are alternate, singly or doubly serrate, feather-veined and they often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like, two-leaved, lateral branchlets. The fruit is a samara, although the wings may be obscure in some species. They differ from the alders in that the female catkins are not woody and disintegrate at maturity, falling apart to release the seeds, unlike the woody, cone-like female alder catkins. The bark of all birches is characteristically marked with long, horizontal lenticels and its decided color gives the common names gray, white, black, silver and yellow birch to different species. The buds form early and are grown by midsummer, all are lateral, no terminal bud is formed. The wood of all the species is close-grained with satiny texture, staminate aments are pendulous, clustered or solitary in the axils of the last leaves of the branch of the year or near the ends of the short lateral branchlets of the year. They form in autumn and remain rigid during the winter. The scales of the staminate aments when mature are broadly ovate, rounded, yellow or orange color below the middle, each scale bears two bractlets and three sterile flowers, each flower consisting of a sessile, membranaceous, usually two-lobed, calyx. Each calyx bears four short filaments with one-celled anthers or strictly, the pistillate aments are erect or pendulous, solitary, terminal on the two-leaved lateral spur-like branchlets of the year. The pistillate scales are oblong-ovate, three-lobed, pale yellow green often tinged with red and these scales bear two or three fertile flowers, each flower consisting of a naked ovary. The ovary is compressed, two-celled, and crowned with two styles, the ovule is solitary. Each scale bear a small, winged nut that is oval. Betula species are organised into five subgenera, pendula and B. pubescens confused, though they are distinct species with different chromosome numbers. This root is derived from *bʰreh₁ǵ- ‘to shine’, in reference to the birchs white bark. The Proto-Germanic rune berkanan is named after the birch, the generic name betula is from Latin, which is a diminutive borrowed from Gaulish betua
8.
Barn
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A barn is an agricultural building usually located on farms and used for various purposes. In the North American area, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain. As a result, the barn is often qualified e. g. tobacco barn, dairy barn, sheep barn. On the Continent, however, barns were often part of integrated structures known as byre-dwellings, in addition, barns may be used for equipment storage, as a covered workplace, and for activities such as threshing. The word barn comes from the Old English bere, for barley, and aern, for a storage place—thus, “Another word for barn in Old English was beretun, barley enclosure (from tun, enclosure, house, or beretun, also meaning a threshing floor. In historical times, the barn was to be distinguished from the granary, now, however, the common English name for a grain storage building is granary. The modern barn largely developed from the three aisled barn, commonly known as tithe barn or monastic barn. This, in turn, originated in a 12th-century building tradition, also applied in halls, in the 15th century several thousands of these huge barns were to be found in Western-Europe. In the course of time, its method was adopted by normal farms and it gradually spread to simpler buildings. As a rule, the barn had large entrance doors. The storage floors between the posts or in the aisles were known as bays or mows. The main types were large barns with sideway passages, compact barns with a central entrance, the latter also spread to Eastern Europe. Whenever stone walls were applied, the timber frame often gave way to single-naved buildings. A special type were byre-dwellings, which included living quarters, byres and stables, such as the Frisian farmhouse or Gulf house, not all, however, evolved from the medieval barn. Other types descended from the prehistoric longhouse or other building traditions, one of the latter was the Low German house, in which the harvest was stored in the attic. In many cases, the New World colonial barn evolved from the Low German house, in the mid to late 19th century in the U. S. barn framing methods began to shift away from traditional timber framing to truss framed or plank framed buildings. Truss or plank framed barns reduced the number of timbers instead using dimensional lumber for the rafters, joists, the joints began to become bolted or nailed instead of being mortised and tenoned. The inventor and patentee of the Jennings Barn claimed his design used less lumber, less work, less time, concrete block began to be used for barns in the early 20th century in the U. S
9.
Herbal tea
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Herbal teas — much less commonly called herb teas or tisanes — and fruit teas are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, fruits, or other plant material in hot water. They do not usually contain caffeine, the tea industry often confusingly uses the term fruit tea to refer to what are in fact fruit-flavored black teas, not fruit teas. Herbal teas and fruit teas should not be confused with true teas, as well as from decaffeinated tea, like beverages made from true teas, herbal teas can be served hot or cold. Documents have been recovered dating back to ancient Egypt and ancient China that discuss the enjoyment, among the Chinese, herbal teas are commonly known as liang cha. In any case, the herbal tea is very well established. The word tisane was rare in its modern sense before the 20th century, the word had already existed in late Middle English in the sense of medicinal drink and had already been borrowed from French. As herbal teas can be composed of any plant material, including plants that are known to be toxic. Most retail herbal teas sold as beverages could be considered safe, while most herbal teas are safe for regular consumption, some herbs have toxic or allergenic effects. The deadly foxglove, for example, can be mistaken for the more benign comfrey. The UK does not require herbal teas to have any evidence concerning their efficacy, mint and peppermint herbal teas have significantly stronger ferrous ion chelating ability than true teas. Depending on the source of the ingredients, herbal teas, like any crop. In addition to the mentioned above which are toxic to all people, several medicinal herbs are considered abortifacients. These include common ingredients like nutmeg, mace, papaya, bitter melon, verbena, saffron, slippery elm and it also includes more obscure herbs, like mugwort, rue, pennyroyal, wild carrot, blue cohosh, tansy, and savin. In Egypt, herbal teas such as hibiscus tea are very popular, the Chinese term liang cha, means cooling tea, and the Chinese drink it to cool down the body when it has become overheated due to weather or sickness. In Sri Lanka, herbal teas have a history within the local tradition of indigenous medicine. Iramusu, beli, ranawara, polpala, weniwel, and kothala-himbutu are among the plant species used to make herbal teas. Herbal teas can be made fresh or dried flowers, leaves, seeds or roots, generally by pouring boiling water over the plant parts. Seeds and roots can also be boiled on a stove, the herbal tea is then strained, sweetened if so desired, and served
10.
Beer
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Beer is the worlds oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drink, it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. Most beer is flavoured with hops, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative, the fermentation process causes a natural carbonation effect, although this is often removed during processing, and replaced with forced carbonation. Beer is sold in bottles and cans, it may also be available on draught, particularly in pubs, the brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries. The strength of beer is usually around 4% to 6% alcohol by volume, archaeologists speculate that beer was instrumental in the formation of civilisations. Approximately 5000 years ago, workers in the city of Uruk were paid by their employers in beer, the earliest known chemical evidence of barley beer dates to circa 3500–3100 BC from the site of Godin Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran. The Ebla tablets, discovered in 1974 in Ebla, Syria, a fermented beverage using rice and fruit was made in China around 7000 BC. Unlike sake, mould was not used to saccharify the rice, almost any substance containing sugar can naturally undergo alcoholic fermentation. It is likely that many cultures, on observing that a liquid could be obtained from a source of starch. Bread and beer increased prosperity to a level that allowed time for development of other technologies, Beer was spread through Europe by Germanic and Celtic tribes as far back as 3000 BC, and it was mainly brewed on a domestic scale. The product that the early Europeans drank might not be recognised as beer by most people today, alongside the basic starch source, the early European beers might contain fruits, honey, numerous types of plants, spices and other substances such as narcotic herbs. What they did not contain was hops, as that was an addition, first mentioned in Europe around 822 by a Carolingian Abbot. Beer produced before the Industrial Revolution continued to be made and sold on a scale, although by the 7th century AD, beer was also being produced. During the Industrial Revolution, the production of beer moved from artisanal manufacture to industrial manufacture, the development of hydrometers and thermometers changed brewing by allowing the brewer more control of the process and greater knowledge of the results. Today, the industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies. As of 2006, more than 133 billion litres, the equivalent of a cube 510 metres on a side, of beer are sold per year, the process of making beer is known as brewing. A dedicated building for the making of beer is called a brewery, a company that makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company. Beer made on a scale for non-commercial reasons is classified as homebrewing regardless of where it is made. Brewing beer is subject to legislation and taxation in developed countries, however, the UK government relaxed legislation in 1963, followed by Australia in 1972 and the US in 1978, allowing homebrewing to become a popular hobby
11.
Cheese
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Cheese is a food derived from milk that is produced in a wide range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, during production, the milk is usually acidified, and adding the enzyme rennet causes coagulation. The solids are separated and pressed into final form, Some cheeses have molds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout. Most cheeses melt at cooking temperature, hundreds of types of cheese from various countries are produced. Their styles, textures and flavors depend on the origin of the milk, whether they have been pasteurized, the content, the bacteria and mold, the processing. Herbs, spices, or wood smoke may be used as flavoring agents, the yellow to red color of many cheeses, such as Red Leicester, is produced by adding annatto. Other ingredients may be added to some cheeses, such as pepper, garlic. For a few cheeses, the milk is curdled by adding acids such as vinegar or lemon juice, most cheeses are acidified to a lesser degree by bacteria, which turn milk sugars into lactic acid, then the addition of rennet completes the curdling. Vegetarian alternatives to rennet are available, most are produced by fermentation of the fungus Mucor miehei, cheesemakers near a dairy region may benefit from fresher, lower-priced milk, and lower shipping costs. Cheese is valued for its portability, long life, and high content of fat, protein, calcium, generally speaking, hard cheeses, such as parmesan last longer than soft cheeses, such as Brie or goats milk cheese. The long storage life of some cheeses, especially when encased in a protective rind, There is some debate as to the best way to store cheese, but some experts say that wrapping it in cheese paper provides optimal results. Cheese paper is coated in a plastic on the inside. A specialist seller of cheese is known as a cheesemonger. Becoming an expert in this field requires some formal education and years of tasting and hands-on experience, the cheesemonger is responsible for all aspects of the cheese inventory, selecting the cheese menu, purchasing, receiving, storage, and ripening. The word cheese comes from Latin caseus, from which the modern word casein is also derived, the earliest source is from the proto-Indo-European root *kwat-, which means to ferment, become sour. The word cheese comes from chese and cīese or cēse, the Online Etymological Dictionary states that cheese comes from Old English cyse, cese. from West Germanic *kasjus, from Latin caseus cheese. The Online Etymological Dictionary states that the word is of. unknown origin, perhaps from a PIE root *kwat- to ferment, Old Norse ostr, Danish ost, Swedish ost are related to Latin ius broth, sauce, juice. When the Romans began to make hard cheeses for their legionaries supplies and it is from this word that the French fromage, proper Italian formaggio, Catalan formatge, Breton fourmaj, and Provençal furmo are derived
12.
Barley
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Barley, a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago, Barley has been used as animal fodder, as a source of fermentable material for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods. It is used in soups and stews, and in barley bread of various cultures, Barley grains are commonly made into malt in a traditional and ancient method of preparation. In 2014, barley was ranked fourth among grains in quantity produced behind corn, rice, the Old English word for barley was bære, which traces back to Proto-Indo-European and is cognate to the Latin word farina flour. The direct ancestor of modern English barley in Old English was the derived adjective bærlic, the first citation of the form bærlic in the Oxford English Dictionary dates to around 966 CE, in the compound word bærlic-croft. The underived word bære survives in the north of Scotland as bere, the word barn, which originally meant barley-house, is also rooted in these words. Barley is a member of the grass family and it is a self-pollinating, diploid species with 14 chromosomes. The wild ancestor of domesticated barley, Hordeum vulgare subsp, spontaneum, is abundant in grasslands and woodlands throughout the Fertile Crescent area of Western Asia and northeast Africa, and is abundant in disturbed habitats, roadsides and orchards. Outside this region, the barley is less common and is usually found in disturbed habitats. However, in a study of genome-wide diversity markers, Tibet was found to be a center of domestication of cultivated barley. Wild barley has a spike, upon maturity, the spikelets separate. Domesticated barley has nonshattering spikes, making it easier to harvest the mature ears. The nonshattering condition is caused by a mutation in one of two linked genes known as Bt1 and Bt2, many cultivars possess both mutations. The nonshattering condition is recessive, so varieties of barley that exhibit this condition are homozygous for the mutant allele, spikelets are arranged in triplets which alternate along the rachis. In wild barley, only the central spikelet is fertile, while the two are reduced. This condition is retained in certain cultivars known as two-row barleys, a pair of mutations result in fertile lateral spikelets to produce six-row barleys. Recent genetic studies have revealed that a mutation in one gene, two-row barley has a lower protein content than six-row barley, thus a more fermentable sugar content. High-protein barley is best suited for animal feed, Malting barley is usually lower protein which shows more uniform germination, needs shorter steeping, and has less protein in the extract that can make beer cloudy
