Bread Wheat
Triticum aestivum
Found in fields; frequently cultivated, rarely persistent or volunteering following cultivation. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 2–4 feet
- Spread
- 6 inches–1 foot
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- April to June
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 18 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
23CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Triticum
- Achatodes zeaeElder Shoot Border Moth, Spindele Worm, Cornstalk Borer
- Acronicta insularisHenry's Marsh Moth, Cattail Caterpillar
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Agnorisma badinodisPale-Banded Dart
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Fissicrambus mutabilisStriped Webworm, Striped Sodworm, Changeable Grass-Veneer
Show all 23
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Lacinipolia meditataThe Thinker
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Neodactria caliginosellusCorn Webworm, Corn Root Webworm, Sooty Crambus
- Nephelodes miniansBronzed Cutworm
- Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Rachiplusia ouGray Looper
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
- Elachista illectella
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
56BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Triticum
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Agelaius tricolorTricolored Blackbird
- Alectoris chukarChukar
- Anas platyrhynchosMallard
- Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
- Aphelocoma californicaCalifornia Scrub-Jay
- Branta canadensisCanada Goose
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
Show all 56
- Calcarius ornatusChestnut-collared Longspur
- Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
- Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Columba liviaRock Pigeon
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Corvus brachyrhynchosAmerican Crow
- Corvus caurinusNorthwestern Crow
- Corvus coraxCommon Raven
- Cyanocitta stelleriSteller's Jay
- Dryobates pubescensDowny Woodpecker
- Ectopistes migratoriusPassenger Pigeon
- Eremophila alpestrisHorned Lark
- Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
- Ixoreus naeviusVaried Thrush
- Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
- Melanerpes erythrocephalusRed-headed Woodpecker
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Oreortyx pictusMountain Quail
- Passer domesticusHouse Sparrow
- Patagioenas fasciataBand-tailed Pigeon
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
- Phasianus colchicusRing-necked Pheasant
- Pheucticus ludovicianusRose-breasted Grosbeak
- Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
- Rhynchophanes mccowniiMcCown's Longspur
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Sitta carolinensisWhite-breasted Nuthatch
- Spinus psaltriaLesser Goldfinch
- Sturnella neglectaWestern Meadowlark
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
- Tympanuchus phasianellusSharp-tailed Grouse
- Xanthocephalus xanthocephalusYellow-headed Blackbird
- Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
- Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Wheat
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Mississippi occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications