Wheatgrass is the result of centuries of the cultivation of agropyrons, perennial wild grasses of temperate and cool regions. Its absolute place of origin is obscured, but was likely within the Fertile Crescent, the Tigris-Euphrates basin. Carbonized grains dating from 6750 BC have been found in Iraq. Similar findings have been located in eastern Mediterranean countries. The cultivation and use of wheat spread throughout Europe before the Stone Age.
Dried wheatgrass powder is the readily-available dried form containing the plant's valuable nutrient properties and has a reliable, extended shelf-life.