diff --git a/dune/gfe/realtuple.hh b/dune/gfe/realtuple.hh
index 87e8a2b8bda63544a1921d26e9721388fcb5cdf5..2ef732db8331160e03d99d8f0135a991af529234 100644
--- a/dune/gfe/realtuple.hh
+++ b/dune/gfe/realtuple.hh
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ class RealTuple
 public:
 
     typedef T ctype;
+    typedef T field_type;
 
     /** \brief The type used for global coordinates */
     typedef Dune::FieldVector<T,N> CoordinateType;