Echinochloa frumentacea

Echinochloa frumentacea (Indian barnyard millet, sawa millet, or billion dollar grass)[2] is a species of Echinochloa. Both Echinochloa frumentacea and E. esculenta are called Japanese millet. This millet is widely grown as a cereal in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Its wild ancestor is the tropical grass Echinochloa colona,[3] but the exact date or region of domestication is uncertain. It is cultivated on marginal lands where rice and other crops will not grow well. The grains are cooked in water, like rice, or boiled with milk and sugar. Sometimes it is fermented to make beer. While also being part of staple diet for some communities in India, these seeds are, in particular, (cooked and) eaten during religious fasting (willingly abstaining from some types of food / food ingredients). For this reason, these seeds are commonly also referred to as "vrat ke chawal" in Hindi (i.e., "rice for fasting", literally). Other common names to identify these seeds include oodalu (ಊದಲು) in Kannada, jhangora in the Garhwal Hills, bhagar (भगर) in Marathi-speaking areas, samo or morio (mario, moraiaya) seeds in Gujerati, or kuthiraivaali (குதிரைவாளி) in Tamil.

Echinochloa frumentacea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Echinochloa
Species:
E. frumentacea
Binomial name
Echinochloa frumentacea
Synonyms[1]
  • Echinochloa colona var. frumentacea (Link) Ridl.
  • Echinochloa crus-galli var. edulis Hitchc. nom. illeg.
  • Echinochloa crus-galli var. edulis Honda
  • Echinochloa crus-galli var. frumentacea (Link) W.F.Wright
  • Echinochloa crusgalli var. frumentacea W. Wight
  • Echinochloa glabrescens var. barbata Kossenko
  • Oplismenus frumentaceus (Link) Kunth
  • Panicum crus-galli var. edule (Hitchc.) Thell. ex de Lesd.
  • Panicum crus-galli var. edulis (Hitchc.) Makino & Nemoto
  • Panicum crus-galli var. frumentacea (Link) Trimen
  • Panicum crus-galli var. frumentaceum (Roxb.) Trimen
  • Panicum frumentaceum Roxb. nom. illeg.

See also

References
  1. "The Plant List".
  2. Echinochloa frumentacea. USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet.
  3. Hilu, Khidir W. (1994). "Evidence from RAPD markers in the evolution of Echinochloa millets (Poaceae)". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 189 (3): 247–257. doi:10.1007/BF00939730.


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