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Echinochloa frumentacea - (Roxb.)Link.

Common Name Japanese Millet, Billion-dollar grass
Family Poaceae or Gramineae
USDA hardiness Coming soon
Known Hazards None known
Habitats Not known in a truly wild situation.
Range Native habitat unknown, possibly derived in cultivation from E. crus-galli.
Edibility Rating    (3 of 5)
Other Uses    (0 of 5)
Weed Potential No
Medicinal Rating    (1 of 5)
Care (info)
Moist Soil Full sun
Echinochloa frumentacea Japanese Millet, Billion-dollar grass


USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States. USDA Misc. Publ. No. 200. Washington, DC.
Echinochloa frumentacea Japanese Millet, Billion-dollar grass

 

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Summary


Physical Characteristics

 icon of manicon of flower
Echinochloa frumentacea is a ANNUAL growing to 1.8 m (6ft) by 0.2 m (0ft 8in). It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

Panicum frumentacea.

Plant Habitats

 Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Seed
Edible Uses:

Seed - cooked and used as a millet. The seed can be cooked whole or can be ground into a flour[1, 57, 61, 105, 142, 171]. Usually eaten as a porridge[183]. The seed contains about 72.5% starch, 3.12% fat, 11.8% protein, 2.65% ash[179].

References   More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Stomachic

The plant is useful in the treatment of biliousness and constipation[240].

References   More on Medicinal Uses

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Other Uses

None known

Special Uses

References   More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

Prefers a rich moist soil[85] but succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1]. Japanese millet is sometimes cultivated in India and E. Asia for its edible seed, especially in areas where rice will not grow. There are some named varieties[1, 61, 74, 171]. Plants can produce a crop of seeds within 6 weeks of sowing in warmer areas of the world[179, 183] but obtaining a reasonable crop is more problematic in the cooler summers of Britain. The plants need to be started off early in a greenhouse in order to give sufficient growing time. They are also more likely to succeed in the eastern side of the country where the summers are usually warmer and drier.

References   Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

Temperature Converter

Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:

Fahrenheit:

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Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants, Edible Perennials, Edible Trees,Edible Shrubs, Woodland Gardening, and Temperate Food Forest Plants. Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical).

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Plant 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.

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Native Range

Coming Soon

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status :

Related Plants
Latin NameCommon NameHabitHeightHardinessGrowthSoilShadeMoistureEdibleMedicinalOther
Echinochloa colonaJungle RiceAnnual1.0 0-0  LMHNM200
Echinochloa crus-galliBarnyard Millet, Barnyardgrass,Annual1.2 5-9  LMHNM322
Echinochloa polystachyaAleman Grass. German grassPerennial2.0 10-12 FLMHNMWeWa004

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

 

Expert comment

Author

(Roxb.)Link.

Botanical References

6174266

Links / References

For a list of references used on this page please go here

Readers comment

Stan Bruwster   Tue Jun 20 2006

I have been unable to look up any flower at all! I know you can eat pansy flowers but nothing comes up. nothing came up for any flower i put in. How do you look up something when you don't know the latin name?

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Subject : Echinochloa frumentacea  
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