| Dactyloctenium aegyptium | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Dactyloctenium |
| Species: | D. aegyptium |
| Binomial name | |
| Dactyloctenium aegyptium | |
Dactyloctenium aegyptium, or Egyptian crowfoot grass is a member of the family Poaceae native to Africa and Asia [1] . The plant mostly grows in heavy soils at damp sites.
This grass creeps and has a straight shoot which are usually about 30 centimeters tall. [2]
Dactyloctenium aegyptium is still a traditional food plant used as a famine food in Africa, this little-known grain has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.[ citation needed ]
In other areas of the world, including parts of the United States, the grass is considered a weed and invasive species.
Eleusine coracana, or finger millet 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.
Teff, also known as Eragrostis tef, Williams lovegrass, or annual bunch grass, is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the Horn of Africa, notably to both Eritrea and Ethiopia. It is cultivated for its edible seeds, also known as teff. Teff was one of the earliest plants domesticated. It is one of the most important staple crops in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Avena is a genus of Eurasian and African plants in the grass family. Collectively known as the oats, they include some species which have been cultivated for thousands of years as a food source for humans and livestock. They are widespread throughout Europe, Asia and northwest Africa. Several species have become naturalized in many parts of the world, and are regarded as invasive weeds where they compete with crop production. All oats have edible seeds, though they are small and hard to harvest in most species.
Fonio, also sometimes called findi or acha, is the term for two cultivated grasses in the genus Digitaria that are important crops in parts of West Africa. The nutritious food with a favorable taste is a vital food source in many rural areas, especially in the mountains of Fouta Djalon, Guinea but it is also cultivated in Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Senegal. The global fonio market was estimated at 721,400 tonnes in 2020. Guinea annually produces the most fonio in the world, accounting for over 75% of the world's production in 2019. The name fonio is from Wolof foño. In West Africa, the species black fonio (Digitaria iburua) and white fonio (Digitaria exilis) are cultivated, whereby the latter is the economically more important crop.
Paspalum is a genus of plants in the grass family.
Aegilops is a genus of Eurasian and North American plants in the grass family, Poaceae. They are known generally as goatgrasses. Some species are known as invasive weeds in parts of North America.
Echinochloa stagnina is a species of Echinochloa widespread in tropical Africa and Asia, with an invasive status in many Pacific islands. It was once one of the major grasses cultivated in the Inner Niger Delta of the Niger River. It was cultivated by the Fulani people, who used the seeds as food, and to make both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages.
Themeda triandra is a species of C4 perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and red oat grass or as rooigras in Afrikaans. Kangaroo grass was formerly thought to be one of two species, and was named Themeda australis.
Sorghum bicolor, commonly called sorghum and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethanol production. Sorghum originated in Africa, and is now cultivated widely in tropical and subtropical regions. Sorghum is the world's fifth-most important cereal crop after rice, wheat, maize, and barley, with 61,000,000 metric tons of annual global production in 2021. S. bicolor is typically an annual, but some cultivars are perennial. It grows in clumps that may reach over 4 metres (13 ft) high. The grain is small, ranging from 2 to 4 millimetres in diameter. Sweet sorghums are sorghum cultivars that are primarily grown for forage, syrup production, and ethanol; they are taller than those grown for grain.
Eleusine indica, the Indian goosegrass, yard-grass, goosegrass, wiregrass, or crowfootgrass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is a small annual grass distributed throughout the warmer areas of the world to about 50 degrees latitude. It is an invasive species in some areas.
Commercial sorghum is the cultivation and commercial exploitation of species of grasses within the genus Sorghum. These plants are used for grain, fibre and fodder. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Commercial Sorghum species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia.
Dactyloctenium is a genus of Asian, African, and Australian plants in the grass family. There are about 13 species in the genus in the world, in which 3 are known to occur in India. A common name for the plants is crowfoot grasses.
Cynosurus is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the grass family. Plants in this genus are known generally as dogstail grass. They are native to the Mediterranean Basin and neighboring regions, but some have been introduced into Australia as well as North and South America.
Digitaria sanguinalis is a species of grass known by several common names, including hairy crabgrass, hairy finger-grass, large crabgrass, crab finger grass, purple crabgrass. It is one of the better-known species of the genus Digitaria, and one that is known nearly worldwide as a common weed. It is used as animal fodder, and the seeds are edible and have been used as a grain in Germany and especially Poland, where it is sometimes cultivated. This has earned it the name Polish millet.
Eleusine is a genus of Asian, African, and South American plants in the grass family, sometimes called by the common name goosegrass. One species, Eleusine indica, is a widespread weed in many places. Another species, Eleusine coracana, is finger millet, cultivated as a cereal grain in India and parts of Africa.
Paspalum scrobiculatum, commonly called Kodo millet or Koda millet, is an annual grain that is grown primarily in Nepal and also in India, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and in West Africa from where it originated. It is grown as a minor crop in most of these areas, with the exception of the Deccan plateau in India where it is grown as a major food source. It is a very hardy crop that is drought tolerant and can survive on marginal soils where other crops may not survive, and can supply 450–900 kg of grain per hectare. Kodo millet has large potential to provide nourishing food to subsistence farmers in Africa and elsewhere.
Chloris gayana is a species of grass known by the common name Rhodes grass. It is native to Africa but it can be found throughout the tropical and subtropical world as a naturalized species.
Ctenium is a genus of African and American plants in the grass family.
Setaria verticillata is a species of grass known by the common names hooked bristlegrass, rough bristle-grass and bristly foxtail. It is native to Europe, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It is a hardy bunchgrass which grows in many types of urban, cultivated, and disturbed habitat. It is a weed of many types of agricultural crops, growing in vineyards and fields. Herbicide-resistant strains have been noted.
Brachiaria deflexa is an annual millet grass belonging to the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to many regions such as Africa, India, and Pakistan in both tropical and subtropical regions. It has been used as a supplemental food source among other cereal crops.