Wheats

(Triticum spp.)
Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a wonderful grain, grown around the world by just about every bread-eating culture.
Einkorn (Triticum monococcum), emmer (Triticum dicoccum), and spelt (Triticum aestivum var. spelta) are three grains which are considered to be the ancestors of modern bread wheat. All three tend to retain their hulls when threshed, which makes them harder to use for food, since they must be dehulled before eating. Wheat threshes “clean,” that is, it loses its hulls when threshed and can be eaten without needing additional dehulling. Also, in most years wheat will produce more grain per square metre. These advantages led most people to eagerly adopt it when it was developed thousands of years ago. However, the ancient wheat relatives are now experiencing a bit of a resurgence because some people who are sensitive to wheat have found that they can eat its ancient relatives without ill effects. This benefit may be augmented by sourdough baking rather than baking with regular yeast.
If you are a straw weaver, these grains are often beautiful and might be worth trying purely as ornamentals.