Finger millet

Finger millet
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Eleusine
Species:
E. coracana
Binomial name
Eleusine coracana
Synonyms[1]
  • Cynodon coracanus Raspail
  • Cynosurus coracanus L.
  • Eleusine cerealis Salisb. nom. illeg.
  • Eleusine dagussa Schimp.
  • Eleusine luco Welw. nom. inval.
  • Eleusine ovalis Ehrenb. ex Sweet nom. inval.
  • Eleusine pilosa Gilli
  • Eleusine reniformis Divak.
  • Eleusine sphaerosperma Stokes nom. illeg.
  • Eleusine stricta Roxb.
  • Eleusine tocussa Fresen.
Eleusine coracana (MHNT)

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semiarid areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and self-pollinating species probably evolved from its wild relative Eleusine africana.[2]

Finger millet is native to the Ethiopian and Ugandan highlands.[3] Interesting crop characteristics of finger millet are the ability to withstand cultivation at altitudes over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level, its high drought tolerance, and the long storage time of the grains.[2]

  1. ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b Borlaug, Norman E.; Axtell, John; Burton, Glenn W.; Harlan, Jack R.; Rachie, Kenneth O.; Vietmeyer, Noel D. (1996). Lost Crops of Africa: Volume I: Grains. U.S. National Research Council Consensus Study Report. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press (NAP). doi:10.17226/2305. ISBN 978-0-309-04990-0. LCCN 93-86876. OCLC 934889803. OL 9872024M.
  3. ^ A.C. D'Andrea, D.E. Lyons, Mitiku Haile, E.A. Butler, "Ethnoarchaeological Approaches to the Study of Prehistoric Agriculture in the Ethiopian Highlands" in Van der Veen, ed., The Exploitation of Plant Resources in Ancient Africa. Kluwer Academic: Plenum Publishers, New York City, 1999.

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