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Useful Tropical Plants

Echinochloa crus-galli

(L.) P.Beauv.

Poaceae

+ Synonyms

Echinochloa caudata Roshev.

Echinochloa commutata Schult.

Echinochloa crus-corvi (L.) P.Beauv.

Echinochloa disticha St.-Lag.

Echinochloa dubia Roem. & Schult.

Echinochloa echinata (Willd.) Nakai

Echinochloa formosensis (Ohwi) S.L.Dai

Echinochloa glabrescens Kossenko

Echinochloa hispida (E.Forst.) Schult.

Echinochloa macrocarpa aristata Vasinger

Echinochloa macrocarpa mutica Vasinger

Echinochloa macrocorvi Nakai

Echinochloa madagascariensis Mez

Echinochloa micans Kossenko

Echinochloa occidentalis (Wiegand) Rydb.

Echinochloa paracorvi Nakai

Echinochloa persistentia Z.S.Diao

Echinochloa pungens occidentalis (Wiegand) Fernald & Griscom

Echinochloa spiralis Vasinger

Echinochloa tzvelevii Mosyakin ex Mavrodiev & H.Scholz,

Echinochloa zelayensis (Kunth) Schult.

Ischaemum glabrescens Ham. ex Hook.f.

Milium crus-galli (L.) Moench

Oplismenus crus-galli (L.) Dumort.

Oplismenus dubius (Roem. & Schult.) Kunth

Oplismenus echinatus (Willd.) Kunth

Oplismenus limosus J.Presl

Oplismenus zelayensis Kunth

Orthopogon crus-galli (L.) Spreng.

Orthopogon echinatus (Willd.) Spreng.

Panicum alectorocnemum St.-Lag.

Panicum alectromerum Dulac

Panicum coarctatum Steven ex Trin.

Panicum corvi Thunb.

Panicum corvipes Stokes

Panicum cristagalli Gromov ex Trautv.

Panicum cruscorvi L.

Panicum crus-galli L.

Panicum crus-pici Willd. ex Döll

Panicum dubium Sieber ex Steud.

Panicum echinatum Willd.

Panicum goiranii Rouy

Panicum grossum Salisb.

Panicum hispidum G.Forst.

Panicum limosum J.Presl ex Nees

Panicum numidianum Sieber ex Schult.

Panicum oryzetorum Sickenb.

Panicum scindens Nees ex Steud.

Panicum segetale Roxb. ex Hook.f.

Panicum zelayense (Kunth) Steud.

Pennisetum crus-galli (L.) Baumg.

Common Name: Barnyard Millet

Echinochloa crus-galli
Cultivated plants
Photograph by: Pato Novoa
Creative Commons License
Echinochloa crus-galli Echinochloa crus-galli Echinochloa crus-galli Echinochloa crus-galli Echinochloa crus-galli

General Information

Echinochloa crus-galli is a clump-forming annual grass with ascending or decumbent stems 30 - 120cm long.
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is sometimes cultivated for its edible seed in India[
171
Title
Economic Botany.
Publication
 
Author
Hill. A. F.
Publisher
The Maple Press
Year
1952
ISBN
-
Description
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
], and is also sometimes grown in soil reclamation projects[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
].

Known Hazards

This grass has been reported to accumulate levels of nitrate in its tissues high enough to be toxic to farm animals[
269
Title
Handbook of Energy Crops
Publication
 
Author
Duke. J.
Website
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html
Publisher
-
Year
1983
ISBN
-
Description
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
]. This problem is most likely to occur when plants are fed with inorganic fertilizers[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Botanical References

50
Title
Flora Europaea
Publication
 
Author
?
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
1964
ISBN
-
Description
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
,
200
Title
The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Publication
 
Author
Huxley. A.
Publisher
MacMillan Press
Year
1992
ISBN
0-333-47494-5
Description
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
,
236
Title
Manual of the Grasses of the United States
Publication
 
Author
Hitchcock. A. S.
Publisher
Dover Publications. New York.
Year
1971
ISBN
0-486-22717-0
Description
A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.

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[
50
Title
Flora Europaea
Publication
 
Author
?
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
1964
ISBN
-
Description
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
]. Wet places and rich soils in India[
240
Title
Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement).
Publication
 
Author
Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C.
Publisher
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi.
Year
1986
ISBN
-
Description
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
].

Properties

Weed PotentialYes
Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitAnnual
Height1.20 m
PollinatorsWind
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Barnyard millet is an annual plant that can succeed in a wide range of environments from the temperate zone to the tropics. It can be found at elevations up to 2,500 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 17 - 30°c, but can tolerate 2 - 40°c[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 700 - 1,100mm, but tolerates 310 - 2,500mm[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
].
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[
269
Title
Handbook of Energy Crops
Publication
 
Author
Duke. J.
Website
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html
Publisher
-
Year
1983
ISBN
-
Description
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
]. It succeeds on a variety of wet sites such as ditches, low areas in fertile croplands and wet wastes, often growing in water[
269
Title
Handbook of Energy Crops
Publication
 
Author
Duke. J.
Website
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html
Publisher
-
Year
1983
ISBN
-
Description
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
]. Tolerant of most soil types, including saline conditions, plants are not restricted by soil pH[
269
Title
Handbook of Energy Crops
Publication
 
Author
Duke. J.
Website
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html
Publisher
-
Year
1983
ISBN
-
Description
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
]. Prefers a rich moist soil[
85
Title
Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains.
Publication
 
Author
Harrington. H. D.
Publisher
University of New Mexico Press
Year
1967
ISBN
0-8623-0343-9
Description
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.
] but succeeds in ordinary garden soil[
1
Title
RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Publication
 
Author
F. Chittendon.
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Year
1951
ISBN
-
Description
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
]. The sub-species E. Crus-galli zelayensis is often found growing wild in alkaline soils[
236
Title
Manual of the Grasses of the United States
Publication
 
Author
Hitchcock. A. S.
Publisher
Dover Publications. New York.
Year
1971
ISBN
0-486-22717-0
Description
A nice and comprehensive flora, though a bit dated. Good line drawings of each plant, plus a brief idea of the habitat and a few notes on plant uses. Not for the casual reader.
]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7, tolerating 4.8 - 8.2[
418
Title
Ecocrop
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
].
The plant is considered to be a very serious weed of many cultivated crops[
269
Title
Handbook of Energy Crops
Publication
 
Author
Duke. J.
Website
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html
Publisher
-
Year
1983
ISBN
-
Description
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
]. It is regarded as the world's worst weed in paddy rice fields[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].
The plant has a relatively long growing season.

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked[
35
Title
Herbal Review. Vol.11. 4.
Publication
 
Author
The Herb Society
Publisher
The Herb Society
Year
1986
ISBN
0264-9853
Description
 
,
55
Title
Eat the Weeds.
Publication
 
Author
Harris. B. C.
Publisher
Pivot Health
Year
1973
ISBN
-
Description
Interesting reading.
,
105
Title
Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Tanaka. T. & Nakao S.
Publisher
Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo
Year
1976
ISBN
-
Description
The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
,
171
Title
Economic Botany.
Publication
 
Author
Hill. A. F.
Publisher
The Maple Press
Year
1952
ISBN
-
Description
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
]. Used as a millet, it can be cooked whole or be ground into a flour before use[
183
Title
Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications
Year
1990
ISBN
0-9628087-0-9
Description
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
,
257
Title
Native American Ethnobotany
Publication
 
Author
Moerman. D.
Publisher
Timber Press. Oregon.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-88192-453-9
Description
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
]. It has a good flavour[
85
Title
Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains.
Publication
 
Author
Harrington. H. D.
Publisher
University of New Mexico Press
Year
1967
ISBN
0-8623-0343-9
Description
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.
] and can be used in porridges, macaroni, dumplings etc[
183
Title
Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications
Year
1990
ISBN
0-9628087-0-9
Description
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
]. The seed is rather small[
159
Title
Wild Food Plants of Indiana.
Publication
 
Author
McPherson. A. and S.
Publisher
Indiana University Press
Year
1977
ISBN
0-253-28925-4
Description
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.
], though fairly easy to harvest. It has a somewhat bitter flavour[
178
Title
Chinese Materia Medica.
Publication
 
Author
Stuart. Rev. G. A.
Publisher
Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
Year
1911
ISBN
-
Description
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.
].

Young shoots, stem tips and the heart of the culm - raw or cooked[
144
Title
Wild Food in Australia.
Publication
 
Author
Cribb. A. B. and J. W.
Publisher
Fontana
Year
1976
ISBN
0-00-634436-4
Description
A very good pocket guide.
,
177
Title
Plants for Human Consumption.
Publication
 
Author
Kunkel. G.
Publisher
Koeltz Scientific Books
Year
1984
ISBN
3874292169
Description
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
]. A nutritional analysis is available[
218
Title
Medicinal Plants of China
Publication
 
Author
Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S.
Publisher
Reference Publications, Inc.
Year
1985
ISBN
0-917256-20-4
Description
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
].

The roasted seed is a coffee substitute[
177
Title
Plants for Human Consumption.
Publication
 
Author
Kunkel. G.
Publisher
Koeltz Scientific Books
Year
1984
ISBN
3874292169
Description
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
].

Medicinal

Reported to be preventative and tonic, barnyard grass is a folk remedy for treating carbuncles, haemorrhages, sores, spleen trouble, cancer and wounds[
269
Title
Handbook of Energy Crops
Publication
 
Author
Duke. J.
Website
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html
Publisher
-
Year
1983
ISBN
-
Description
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
].

The shoots and/or the roots are applied as a styptic to wounds[
218
Title
Medicinal Plants of China
Publication
 
Author
Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S.
Publisher
Reference Publications, Inc.
Year
1985
ISBN
0-917256-20-4
Description
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
,
240
Title
Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement).
Publication
 
Author
Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C.
Publisher
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi.
Year
1986
ISBN
-
Description
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
].

The plant is a tonic, acting on the spleen[
218
Title
Medicinal Plants of China
Publication
 
Author
Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S.
Publisher
Reference Publications, Inc.
Year
1985
ISBN
0-917256-20-4
Description
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
,
240
Title
Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement).
Publication
 
Author
Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C.
Publisher
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi.
Year
1986
ISBN
-
Description
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is sometimes used, especially in Egypt, for the reclamation of saline and alkaline areas[
269
Title
Handbook of Energy Crops
Publication
 
Author
Duke. J.
Website
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html
Publisher
-
Year
1983
ISBN
-
Description
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-03. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Echinochloa+crus-galli>

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