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Cereals, grains orcereal grains, are grasses (members of the monocot families Poaceae orGramineae)[1] cultivated for the edible components of their fruit seeds (botanically, a type offruit called a caryopsis) - the endocarp, germ and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greaterquantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they aretherefore staple crops. In their natural form (as in whole grain), they are a rich source of

vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats and oils, andprotein. However, when refined by theremoval of thebran and germ, the remaining endocarp is mostly carbohydrate and lacks themajority of the other nutrients. In some developing nations, grain in the form ofrice,wheat,ormaize (in American terminology, corn) constitutes a majority of daily sustenance. Indeveloped nations, cereal consumption is more moderate and varied but still substantial.

The word cereal derives from Ceres, the name of the Roman goddess of harvest andagriculture.

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Rice is the seed of a monocot plant Oryza sativa. As a cereal grain, it is the most

important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially

in East, South, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the West

Indies. It is the grain with the second highest worldwide production, after maize

("corn").[1Rice is normally grown as an annual plant, although in tropical areas it

can survive as a perennial and can produce a ratoon crop for up to 20 years.[4]

The rice plant can grow to 11.8 m tall, occasionally more depending on the

variety and soil fertility. The grass has long, slender leaves 50100 cm long and

22.5 cm broad. The small wind-pollinatedflowers are produced in a branched

arching to pendulous inflorescence 3050 cm long. The edible seed is a grain

(caryopsis) 512 mm long and 23 mm thick.

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Wheat (Triticum spp.)[1] is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Fertile Crescent region oftheNear East. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the thirdmost-produced cereal aftermaize (784 million tons) and rice (651 million tons).[2] Wheatgrain is a staple food used to make flourfor leavened, flat and steamed breads, biscuits,

cookies, cakes, breakfast cereal, pasta, noodles, couscous[3] and forfermentation to makebeer,[4]alcohol, vodka,[5] orbiofuel.[6] Wheat is planted to a limited extent as a forage crop forlivestock, and the straw can be used as fodderfor livestock or as a construction material forroofing thatch.[7][8]

Although wheat supplies much of the world's dietary protein and food supply, as many as onein every 100 to 200 people has Celiac disease, a condition which results from an immunesystem response to a protein found in wheat: gluten (based on figures for the United States).

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Maize (Zea maysL. ssp. mays, pronounced /mez /; also known in most English-

speaking countries as corn), is a grass domesticated by indigenous peoples in

Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. Native Americans cultivated it in numerous

varieties throughout the Americas. The Mississippian culture, whose major city

and regional chiefdom ofCahokia in present-day Illinois achieved its peak about

1250 CE, had population density and a great regional trade network based on

surplus maize crops. As another example, the women of the Pawnee nation on

the Great Plains were known to cultivate ten pure varieties of corn by the late

18th century. After European contact with the Americas in the late 15th andearly 16th centuries, explorers and traders carried maize back to Europe and

introduced it to other countries through trade. Its use spread to the rest of the

world.

Maize stems superficially resemble bamboo canes and the internodes can reach2030 centimetres (812 in). Maize has a distinct growth form; the lower leaves

being like broad flags, 50100 centimetres long and 510 centimetres wide (2

4 ft by 24 in); the stems are erect, conventionally 23 metres (710 ft) in height,

with many nodes, casting off flag-leaves at every node. Under these leaves and

close to the stem grow the ears. They grow about 3 millimetres a day.

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The common oat (Avena sativa) is a species ofcereal graingrown for its seed,

which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other grains).

While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one

of the most common uses is as livestock feed. Oats make up a large part of the

diet ofhorses and are regularly fed to cattle as well. Oats are also used in some

brands of dog and chicken feed.

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