Big Club has eliptical heads, shorter and wider than Club Wheat. It was brought to California and Oregon from Chile after 1860. The seed is slightly darker and a bit less plump than Club Wheat.
Club Wheat (Triticum compactum) was widely grown for food before common bread wheat dominated wheat growing. It is fairly short with strong stiff stems and short compact heads that resist shattering at maturity. These characteristics make it popular in the US Pacific Northwest (PNW) where it can be combined several weeks after it is fully ripe. The seed is usually white (with a few red-seeded cultivars), soft, and low protein and is for pastry flour rather than bread flour. It has been grown in the PNW since the mid to late 1800's, and research and breeding has been done on it at the University of Washington at Pullman most of this time. It is a close relative of bread wheat and can be crossed easily with it, usually retaining the stiff stems and resistance to shattering. There seem to be 15 or so cultivars around, the more modern ones being crosses with bread wheat. We offer 3 cultivars of Triticum compactum.
Triticum compactum
Wheat | Wheat Species