Maris Widgeon, is an heritage variety of wheat that has traditionally been used for thatching

Thatching

Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...

 in the UK. This variety was developed in 1964 by the Plant Breeding Institute in Cambridgshire. The 'Maris' in the name, was derived from Maris Lane, the address of PBI headquarters in Trumpington

Trumpington

Trumpington may refer to:*Trumpington, Cambridgeshire, a suburb of the city of Cambridge, UK.*Trumpington, Maryland, a registered historic place in Maryland, U.S.*Jean Barker, Baroness Trumpington, a life peer of the United Kingdom...

, Cambridge.

Uses

It produces a tall, strong stemmed straw without the use of artificial fertilisers, which makes popular with thatchers and straw craftsmen. It is also popular with artisan bread bakers and specialist organic millers .

Problems in production

There are no wheat varieties, suitable for thatching, on the current NIAB seed list. Until recently (2008/9) the only commercial seed distributor for Maris Widgeon, was Pickards Seeds, of Burrington

Burrington, Devon

Burrington is a village and civil parish in North Devon in England. In 2001 the population was 538.Burrington is a typical Devon village with a church, a Methodist Chapel, a pub and shop cum Post Office. Unusually for a Devon village it has excellent bus services between Barnstaple and Exeter...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

. Maris Widgeon is one of the few varieties on the National List of Permitted Varieties - (EU legislation policed by DEFRA). Other traditional varieties have become unlisted which means that they cannot be bought, sold or even given away. For this reason new straw growers have no option but to grow Maris Widgeon from kept seed.

External links

• Wheat: the big picture Illustrated guide to life cycle of wheat plant