African goose grass, African finger millet
Eleusine africana

Family: Poaceae

What it is like

A herb. It is an annual millet grass that forms tussocks. It grows 1 m tall. The leaves are mostly near the base. The leaf blades are 5-35 cm long by 3-6 mm wide. The flower is made up of 3-17 finger like racemes. They are 4-17 cm long. The spikelets have fertile 309 fertile flowers. The seeds are 1.2-1.6 mm long and black.

There are 9 Eleusine species. Probably edible. It has been confused with Eleusine indica in records.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in dry soils. It grows between 330-2,400 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places. It can be in damp sandy soils near rivers. In Zimbabwe it grows between 1,490-1,910 m above sea level. It germinates best at temperatures of 23°C.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa (country/location of origin), Angola, Arabia, Asia, Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Britain, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, Cuba, East Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Middle East, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Pacific, Peru, Rwanda, Sahel, Saudi Arabia, Scandinavia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, South America, Southern Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, USA, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Caution: It can contain prussic acid.

It is a famine food. It is sometimes cultivated.

Edible parts

Seeds, caution, cereal

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Plants grow quickly.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. subsp. africana (Kenn.-O'Byrne) Hilu & de Wet; Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn. subsp. africana (Kenn.-O'Byrne) S. M. Phillips;