88 



BULLETIN 1074, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



This variety is fairly hardy and has been grown from fall sowing in the 

 Southeastern States for many years. Its principal advantage over other varie- 

 ties in that section is its early maturity, which in part is due to its spring 

 habit. Plate XVIII, B, shows spikes, glumes, and kernels of this variety. 



History. — The origin of Purplestraw wheat is undetermined. It is, how- 

 ever, one of the earlier varieties of wheat grown in the United States. Con- 

 cerning its early culture, the following information has been recorded by 

 Edmund Ruffin: 



From 1822 to the present time the same kind of wheat has been cultivated, 

 first known as Mountain Purplestraw and more lately designated Early Purple- 

 straw (161, p. 103). 



As the variety has continued to be an important wheat in the southeastern 

 United States, its successful culture has continued about 100 years. 



Distribution. — Grown in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, 

 Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South 



Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, 

 and Virginia. The distribu- 

 tion is shown in Figure 33. 



Synonyms. — Alabama Blue- 

 stem, Bluestem, Early Purple- 

 straw, Georgia Bluestem, 

 Georgia Red, Mountain Pur- 

 plestraw, and Ripley. 



Alabama Bluestem is a name 

 commonly used for Purple- 

 straw wheat in Alabama. 

 Bluestem is the general name 

 used as a synonym for Purple- 

 straw by many growers of the 

 variety in the Southeastern 

 States. Early Purplestraw is 

 a name, as indicated above, 

 which was formely used for 

 the variety. In recent years, 

 however, the word " early " has been dropped, and Purplestraw has become the 

 name most generally used. Georgia Bluestem and Georgia Red are names com- 

 monly used by growers of Purplestraw wheat in Georgia. Mountain Bluestem, 

 as stated above, was the name under which the variety was first grown. This 

 name is still used in some sections, although the prefix " Mountain " has gen- 

 erally been dropped for many years. Ripley is a local name used for Purple- 

 straw in York County, S. C. 



HUSTON. 



Fig. 33. — Outline map of the southeastern United 

 States, showing the distribution of Purplestraw 

 wheat in 1919. Estimated area, 273,800 acres. 



Description. — Plant spring habit, early, midtall; stem faintly purple, mid- 

 strong; spike awnless, oblong, dense, erect; glumes glabrous, white, midlong, 

 midwide, easily shattered ; shoulders wanting to narrow, oblique ; beaks narrow, 

 obtuse, 1.0 to 1.5 mm. long; apical awns several, 3 to 10 mm. long; kernels 

 red, short, soft to semihard, broadly ovate ; germ midsized ; crease midwide, 

 shallow to middeep, usually pitted; cheeks rounded, brush small, midlong, 

 sometimes collared. 



This is one of the few soft red spring-wheat varieties grown in the United 

 States. 



History. — According to S. L. Williams, of the Eugene Mill & Elevator Co., 

 Eugene, Oreg., the variety was introduced in the vicinity of Eugene in 1876 by 



