#seeds

What happened: Claudio Grossi, a farmer near Parma, found a sack of unfamiliar, dried-out seeds in his attic in the 1990s, likely left by his great-grandfather, who founded the farm in 1915, and tossed them on a manure pile, Mental Floss reports from a Smithsonian Magazine interview. They sprouted into very tall wheat with seven ears per stalk instead of one, which he linked to Pharaoh's dream in Genesis and named grano del miracolo. A University of Parma student identified it as poulard wheat (Triticum turgidum).

Why it matters: Grossi says it handles drought better and needs no fertilizer or pesticides; old varieties like this widen the gene pool breeders can draw on as droughts grow more common.

How much agreement is there? Some disagreement. The drought and no-fertilizer claims come from the farmer's experience, not published field trials, and its height makes it vulnerable to storms (he plants it beside shorter wheat).

Could someone help? Seed libraries and heritage-grain growers keep old varieties alive; saving and sharing seeds is something anyone with a garden can do.