----- Original Message -----
> Wheat for ex is very remote in the number of chromosomes from its wild
> ancestor.

Actually, quite a number of plants are believed to have become polyploidy
(doubling or more than doubling the number of sets of their chromosomes)
entirely on their own in nature--i.e., without any intervention from humans.
Wheat, blueberries, and apples are ones that jump to mind.

But, of course, yes, you're right that a consequence of selective breeding
(over several generations or over one or two with a little help from
colchicine) is to create polyploidy plants.  Those gigantic strawberries
that are common in markets are typically hexaploid (6x).  The wild
strawberry is, I'm pretty sure, diploid by nature, and correspondingly much
smaller and less sweeter.  That's just about the limit of chromosomal
tinkering strawberries will bear.  Octoploids produce overly watery and
largely flavorless berries.  Seems I recall that some "improved" wheat
strains are also 6x.  I imagine the usual seed heads of ancient wheat were
quite a bit smaller (and a lot harder to gather) than they are today.
Virtually all vegetative matter and garden seeds commercially available
today are, in a sense, mutant forms.

Theola