Triticum Triticum spelta spelt Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta (L.) Thell. Damion Dooley Triticum spelta L. Spelt was an important staple in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times; it now survives as a relict crop in Central Europe and northern Spain, and has also found a new market as a 'health food'. Spelt is sometimes considered a subspecies of the closely related species common wheat (*Triticum aestivum*), in which case its botanical name is considered to be *Triticum aestivum* subsp. *spelta*. It is a hexaploid wheat, which means it has six sets of chromosomes.[wikipedia]