Eleusine coracana

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.

Eleusine coracana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Eleusine
Species:
E. coracana
Binomial name
Eleusine coracana
Synonyms
  • Cynodon coracanus Raspail
  • Cynosurus coracanus L.
  • Eleusine cerealis Salisb. nom. illeg.
  • Eleusine dagussa Schimp.
  • Eleusine luco Welw. nom. inval.
  • Eleusine ovalis Ehrenb. ex Sweet nom. inval.
  • Eleusine pilosa Gilli
  • Eleusine reniformis Divak.
  • Eleusine sphaerosperma Stokes nom. illeg.
  • Eleusine stricta Roxb.
  • Eleusine tocussa Fresen.

Finger millet is native to the Ethiopian and Ugandan highlands. Interesting crop characteristics of finger millet are the ability to withstand cultivation at altitudes over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level, its high drought tolerance, and the long storage time of the grains.

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