CLASSIFICATION OF AMERICAN WHEAT VARIETIES, 39 
(133) and by Vilmorin (199) as one of the leading taxonomic char- 
acters of wheat. Heuzé and Koernicke and Werner have indicated 
various shades of white or yellow and of red in the descriptions of 
the kernel color. Eriksson (88) believed that white wheat becomes 
red and states that the color of grain is useless in distinguishing a 
variety. Cobb (69) arranged the wheats he was growing according 
to the color tint from lightest to darkest. Howard and Howard 
(121, p. 288) regard the wheat kernel as being either white or red. 
They state that “the particular tone or color depends partly on 
the consistency of the grain.” Hayes, Bailey, Arny, and Olson | 
(105) proposed the use of the terms “red” and “ white” in describ- 
ing the presence and absence of a brownish red pigment in the bran 
layer. The use of the modification “lght red” was suggested where 
the degree of pigmentation was less than usual in the red wheats. 
Three varieties of Abyssinian wheat having violet-colored kernels 
were mentioned by Koernicke and Werner (133). The writers have 
grown some purple-kerneled wheats from Abyssinia, but they are not 
considered in the present classification of the American varieties. 
Kernels of all varieties are here grouped into two classes, described 
as white and red. Here,asin the glume colors, many different shades 
are present. In general, however, the two classes distinctly separate 
all wheats. Kernels showing the two colors and some of the varia- 
tions that are found in normal and starchy samples are illustrated in 
Plate VII, Figure 1. 
Kernels of the white class may vary from cream to yellowish, or 
they may be white, without pigment. White or faintly pigmented 
kernels may appear to have different shades of yellow color, because 
of differences in texture of the endosperm. Different textures of en- 
dosperm, ranging from starchiness to horniness, result in different 
color shades varying from white to yellow. 
_ Kernels of the red class may vary from light brown to the darker 
shades of red. ‘The variations are due to varietal differences and 
environment. Differences in texture, due to varying conditions, may 
cause “ yellow berries,” which sometimes gives the kernels a mottled 
appearance. 
Many American writers have classed some varieties as “ amber.” 
This usually refers to a white kernel having a translucent or vitreous 
endosperm. The term “amber” is used to designate a certain sub- 
class of durum wheat in the U. S. Official Grain Standards. Hard 
red kernels frequently have been referred to as amber colored. The 
word “ amber ” also has been used as a part of a varietal name, such 
as Martin Amber, which is a soft white wheat, and Michigan Amber, 
which is a soft red wheat. Because of this ambiguity and because 
all American wheats are either red or white, the word “ amber” should 
not be used in describing wheat kernels. 
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