Triticale (X Triticosecale) is an artificial hybrid of rye and wheat first bred in laboratories during the late 19th century, but only recently developed into a viable crop. Depending on the variety, triticale can resemble either parent or have characteristics of both. Today, it is cultivated mostly for forage and feed but some triticale foods can be purchased at health food stores.
The word itself is a fusion of the Latin words triticum ("wheat") and secale ("rye").
The popular Star Trek episode, The Trouble with Tribbles revolved around the protection of a grain developed from triticale, quadrotriticale. A later episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series dealt with quintotriticale. Both grains exist only in the Star Trek universe.