Digitaria iburua
Digitaria iburua, commonly known as iburu, is a grass species native to west and west-central tropical Africa,[1] which is cultivated as a grain crop known as black fonio.[2]
| Digitaria iburua | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
| Genus: | Digitaria |
| Species: | D. iburua |
| Binomial name | |
| Digitaria iburua | |
Iburu (D. iburua) is closely related to white fonio (D. exilis), a cereal that is more widely grown across West Africa. However, Iburu is taller than fonio, but has smaller grain than fonio. This makes harvesting the grains very labor intensive. Iburu is mainly grown in the Middle Belt of central Nigeria, as well as in Zinder, Niger.[3]
See also
- Digitaria compacta, raishan, used as a grain crop in northeast India
- Digitaria exilis, white fonio, also used as a grain crop in West Africa
- Digitaria longiflora, the wild progenitor of Digitaria exilis
- Digitaria sanguinalis, considered a weed around the world, but traditionally used as a grain crop in Europe
References
- W.D. Clayton; M. Vorontsova; K.T. Harman; H. Williamson. "GrassBase". Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- Prance, G.; Nesbitt, M. (2012). The Cultural History of Plants. Taylor & Francis. p. 55. ISBN 9781135958114.
- Blench, Roger (2006). Archaeology, language, and the African past. Altamira Press. ISBN 9780759104655.
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