Foxtail millet
Family Gramineae or Poaceae)
Setaria italica (= Panicum italicum), foxtail millet (S. italica 1), is an annual grass, up to 1.5 m tall, with slender erect culms and linear leaves with a prominent midrib. The inflorescence is a spike-like panicle, up to 25 cm long (S. italica 2). The spikelets are surrounded by bristles, which remain on the axis after the seed has been shed. The grain is small and very variable in colour: white, yellow, red, brown or black.
Distribution
Foxtail millet is probably of Asiatic origin. It was a sacred plant in ancient China and was known in pre-historic Europe. It is cultivated in all warm temperate countries for human food, except in the US. It is the most important millet in Japan and is widely cultivated in India.
Use
The grains may be cooked and eaten like rice, or ground and made into porridge. In Russia it is used for making beer. In England it is known as birdseed.