Thinopyrum intermedium, commonly known as intermediate wheatgrass (IWG), is a is a long-lived, sod-forming perennial grass species related to wheat and native from Western Asia to Europe. It was introduced to North America in the early 20th century, and there it is extensively used as a cool-season forage crop. It produces good hay yields, both in monoculture and in mixtures. IWG grows 90 to 120 cm tall, with a deep root system, extending up to 3 m into the soil.

Due to its relatively large seeds for a perennial grass and high biomass yield, IWG is a promising candidate for domestication as a perennial grain crop for food use. For this purpose, it was selected after a comprehensive screening of nearly 100 perennial plant species by the Rodale Institute (Pennsylvania, USA) in the 1980s. In the following decades, the IWG breeding program expanded to other institutions and is currently under domestication as a new grain crop. Remarkable progress in improving domestication and agronomic traits such as larger seeds, higher grain yield, reduced seed shatter, increased free grain threshing, reduced plant height, resistance to lodging, and disease resistance has been made to date. In addition, efforts to study the chemical properties of intermediate wheatgrass flour in various applications have been completed, and these results are expected to help direct future product development and selection programs aimed at improving grain quality parameters. IWG is nutritionally similar to wheat, and the grain can be ground into flour and used for various food products, such as tortillas, pancakes, cookies, crackers, bread, beer and whisky.

Kernza® is the trademark name for the grain of IWG being developed at The Land Institute in Kansas, USA. Kernza® has already made its way into the commercial supply chain in small niche markets. The Land Institute is working toward a future that includes multiple varieties of Kernza® that are economical for farmers around the world to produce at large scale.