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Concept
Chaff
Summary
Chaff (tʃæf; UKtʃɑːf) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but some livestock can eat it. In agriculture, it is used as livestock fodder, or is a waste material ploughed into the soil or burned.
"Chaff" comes from Middle English chaf, from Old English ceaf, related to Old High German cheva, "husk".
In grasses (including cereals such as rice, barley, oats, and wheat), the ripe seed is surrounded by thin, dry, scaly bracts (called glumes, lemmas, and paleas), forming a dry husk (or hull) around the grain. Once it is removed, it is often referred to as chaff.
In wild cereals and in the primitive domesticated einkorn, emmer and spelt wheats, the husks enclose each seed tightly. Before the grain can be used, the husks must be removed.
The process of loosening the chaff from the grain so as to remove it is called "threshing" – traditionally done by milling or pounding. Separating remaining loose chaff from the grain is called "winnowing" – traditionally done by repeatedly tossing the grain up into a light wind, which gradually blows the lighter chaff away. This method typically uses a broad, plate-shaped basket or similar receptacle to hold and collect the winnowed grain as it falls back down.
Domesticated grains such as durum and common wheat have been bred to have chaff that is easily removed. These varieties are known as "free-threshing" or "naked".
Chaff should not be confused with bran, which is a finer, scaly material that is part of the grain itself.
Chaff is also made by chopping straw (or sometimes coarse hay) into very short lengths, using a machine called a chaff cutter. Like grain chaff, it is used as animal feed, and is a way of turning coarse fodder into a form more palatable to livestock.
In botany, chaff refers to the thin receptacular bracts of many species in the sunflower family Asteraceae and related families.
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