In some developing countries, grain in the form of rice, wheat, millet, or maize constitutes a majority of daily sustenance.
- CerealThe word "corn" outside the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand refers to any cereal crop, its meaning understood to vary geographically to refer to the local staple.
- Maize10 related topics with Alpha
Rice
5 linksSeed of the grass species Oryza sativa or less commonly Oryza glaberrima (African rice).
Seed of the grass species Oryza sativa or less commonly Oryza glaberrima (African rice).
As a cereal grain, domesticated rice is the most widely consumed staple food for over half of the world's human population, especially in Asia and Africa.
It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production, after sugarcane and maize.
Caryopsis
4 linksType of simple dry fruit—one that is monocarpellate (formed from a single carpel) and indehiscent (not opening at maturity) and resembles an achene, except that in a caryopsis the pericarp is fused with the thin seed coat.
Type of simple dry fruit—one that is monocarpellate (formed from a single carpel) and indehiscent (not opening at maturity) and resembles an achene, except that in a caryopsis the pericarp is fused with the thin seed coat.
The caryopsis is popularly called a grain and is the fruit typical of the family Poaceae (or Gramineae), which includes wheat, rice, and corn.
The term grain is also used in a more general sense as synonymous with cereal (as in "cereal grains", which include some non-Poaceae).
Wheat
3 linksGrass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain which is a worldwide staple food.
Grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain which is a worldwide staple food.
In 2020, world production of wheat was 761 e6t, making it the second most-produced cereal after maize.
Poaceae
2 linksLarge and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses.
Large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses.
It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and pasture.
The Poaceae are the most economically important plant family, providing staple foods from domesticated cereal crops such as maize, wheat, rice, barley, and millet as well as feed for meat-producing animals.
Bran
2 links
Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of cereal grain.
Bran is present in cereal grain, including rice, corn (maize), wheat, oats, barley, rye and millet.
Fruit
1 linksSeed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
![The development sequence of a typical drupe, the nectarine (Prunus persica) over a 7.5 month period, from bud formation in early winter to fruit ripening in midsummer (see [[:File:Nectarine Fruit Development.jpg|image page]] for further information)](https://hyperleap.com/images/3b26194b13edb91ea719ef5cbee8d5bd/200-f8d272dc699632d4c7bf3d9f0e131b45.jpg)
In botanical usage, the term "fruit" also includes many structures that are not commonly called "fruits" in everyday language, such as nuts, bean pods, corn kernels, tomatoes, and wheat grains.
Botanically, a cereal grain, such as corn, rice, or wheat is a kind of fruit (termed a caryopsis).
Staple food
1 linksFood that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and generally forming a significant proportion of the intake of other nutrients as well.
Food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and generally forming a significant proportion of the intake of other nutrients as well.
Staple foods are derived either from vegetables or animal products, and common staples include cereals (such as rice, wheat, maize, millet, and sorghum), starchy tubers or root vegetables (such as potatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, or taro), meat, fish, eggs, milk, and cheese, and dried legumes such as lentils and other beans.
Domestication
1 linksSustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group.
Sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group.
The domestication of plants began at least 12,000 years ago with cereals in the Middle East, and the bottle gourd in Asia.
In the Americas squash, maize, beans, and perhaps manioc (also known as cassava) formed the core of the diet.
Annual plant
1 linksPlant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies.
Plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies.
In cultivation, many food plants are, or are grown as, annuals, including virtually all domesticated grains.
Examples of true annuals include corn, wheat, rice, lettuce, peas, watermelon, beans, zinnia and marigold.
Quinoa
0 linksFlowering plant in the amaranth family.
Flowering plant in the amaranth family.
Rotation is common with potato, cereals and legumes including Lupinus mutabilis.
A third bottleneck can be considered "political", and has lasted more than 400 years, from the Spanish conquest of the new continent until the present time. During this phase quinoa has been replaced with maize, marginalized from production processes possibly due to its important medicinal, social and religious roles for the indigenous populations of South America, but also because it is very difficult to process (dehusk) compared with maize.