Echinochloa crus-galli
| Echinochloa crus-galli | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 4' |
| Width: | 0.5' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Echinochloa crus-galli (common name: barnyard millet)
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
A sowing in situ in late spring might also succeed but is unlikely to ripen a crop of seed if the summer is cool and wet.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, it is adapted to nearly all types of wet places, and is often a common weed in paddy fields, roadsides, cultivated areas, and fallow fields[1]. It succeeds on a variety of wet sites such as ditches, low areas in fertile croplands and wet wastes, often growing in water[1]. It succeeds in cool regions, but is better adapted to areas where the average annual temperature is 14-16°C[1]. Tolerant of most soil types, including saline conditions, plants are not restricted by soil pH[1]. Prefers a rich moist soil[2] but succeeds in ordinary garden soil[3]. The sub-species E. crus-galli zelayensis (HBK)Hitchc. is often found growing wild in alkaline soils[4]. The plant is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 31 to 250cm, an annual temperature range of 5.7 to 27.8°C and a pH in the range of 4.8 to 8.2[1].
Barnyard millet is sometimes cultivated for its edible seed in India[5]. It has a relatively long growing season and does not always ripen its seed in Britain, though it should do better in the eastern half of the country[K].
The plant is considered to be a very serious weed of many cultivated crops[1].
Range: Native habitat is unknown but it is widespread in warmer regions occasionally introduced in Britain.
Habitat: Ditches roadsides and waste places in S. Europe[6]. Wet places and rich soils in India[7].
Edibility: Seed - cooked[8][9][10][5]. Used as a millet, it can be cooked whole or be ground into a flour before use[11][12]. It has a good flavour[2] and can be used in porridges, macaroni, dumplings etc[11]. The seed is rather small[13], though fairly easy to harvest. It has a somewhat bitter flavour[14].
Young shoots, stem tips and the heart of the culm - raw or cooked[15][16]. A nutritional analysis is available[17].
The roasted seed is a coffee substitute[16].
Medicinal: Reported to be preventative and tonic, barnyard grass is a folk remedy for treating carbuncles, haemorrhages, sores, spleen trouble, cancer and wounds[1].
The shoots and/or the roots are applied as a styptic to wounds[17][7].
The plant is a tonic, acting on the spleen[17][7].
Usage: The plant is sometimes used, especially in Egypt, for the reclamation of saline and alkaline areas[1].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: This grass has been reported to accumulate levels of nitrate in its tissues high enough to be toxic to farm animals[1]. This problem is most likely to occur when plants are fed with inorganic fertilizers[K].
Also Known As: Panicum crus-galli
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Duke, James. Handbook of Energy Crops. 1983.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Hitchcock, Albert. Manual of the Grasses of the United States. Dover Publications, 1971.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ The Herb Society. Herbal Review, Volume 11.4. The Herb Society, 1986.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan and Joan Cribb. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana, 1976.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.