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As 2010 was the international year of biodiversity, INRA exhibition was focus on this theme.
To present the Cereal Biological Resources Centre to general public, green plants, dried bouquets and seeds boxes had been exposed.

Treated subjects:

Who am I ?

Cereal species had been showed by dried bouquets or/and green plants in pot: barley (two or six rows), triticale, bread wheat, hard wheat, rye and oat.

Some species was easily identified by visitor (i.e. oat, rye) when most common cereal in French landscape was mix up (i.e. wheat, barley). During presentation, special attention was given on morphological trait difference between cultivated species.

Where does wheat come from ?

Simplified wheat pedigree was presented by green plants in pot and dried bouquets. Differences between wild and cultivated species were showing with four wild species: Triticum monococcum, Aegilops speltoïdes, Triticum dicoccoïdes and Aegilops tauschii and cultivated species. Visitors have followed step by step domestication process then selection process with several varieties of turgidum wheat, hard wheat, spelt wheat and bread wheat.

Diversity within cultivated species?

Cultivated species diversity is often unware of public. By observation of morphological traits, you can easily discover this wide diversity. Bread wheat varieties with awn or awnless spike and/or variable spike coloration (white to red) had been used for demonstration.
Seeds boxes of bread wheat, hard wheat and barley were also available to see inter-specific and intra-specific variability (covered seed, naked seed, colour scale, ...).