Hordeum vulgare (var. Bere) (Barley)

Dublin Core

Title

Hordeum vulgare (var. Bere) (Barley)

Subject

Starch grains viewed under 400x

Description

Shape: Lenticular - Circular/sub-circular in plan view, biconvex in side view.
Surface: smooth, sometimes with very faint dimples. Surface facets may be present, or a slight indentation at the hilum.
Outer wall: single
Hilum: centric & closed
Extinction cross: "very distinct and usually bilaterally symmetrical" (Henry et al. 2009: Table 2)
Lamellae: few lamellae visible, particularly with the larger grains.
Fissures: none
Plant part: grain
Notes: multiple beta granules (transitory starch - small grains) present. Bere granules appear potentially smaller on average than conventional Hordeum vulgare range (~20 microns).

Supporting literature:
Henry, A.G., Hudson, H.F., and Piperno, D.R. 2009. Changes in starch grain morphologies from cooking. Journal of Archaeological Science 36:914–922.

Weber, S. and Price, M.D. 2016. What the pig ate: a microbotanical study of pig dental calculus from 10th-3rd millennium BC northern Mesopotamia. Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, 6:819–827.

Source

MPERF - modern sample

Creator

S. Prado

Date

Processed September 19 2019

Type

Starch grain

Identifier

Starch grain

Files

Hordeum vulgare starch 4c.png
Hordeum vulgare starch 4a.png
Hordeum vulgare starch 5c.png
Hordeum vulgare starch 5a.png
Hordeum vulgare starch 2c.png
Hordeum vulgare starch 2b.png

Collection

Citation

S. Prado, “Hordeum vulgare (var. Bere) (Barley),” McMaster Microbotanical Research Database, accessed March 29, 2024, https://macmicrobot.omeka.net/items/show/12.