Wood millet, American Milletgrass, English millet-grass
Milium effusum
Family: Poaceae
What it is like
A millet grass which keeps growing from year to year. It forms tufts. It grows 25-30 cm high and spreads 25-30 cm wide. The leaves are light green. They are soft and arch over. They are 30 cm long. The flowers are small and in open sprays.
There are 6 Milium species.
Where it is found
It is a temperate plant. It does best in light shade. In Pakistan it grows between 2,000-4,000 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 5-10. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
Countries/locations it is found in
Afghanistan, Asia, Australia, Bhutan, Britain, Central Asia, China, Czech Republic, Europe, Himalayas, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, North America, Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Tibet, USA
How it is used for food
The seeds are used for making bread. They are ground into flour. The leaves have been used to flavour tobacco.
Edible parts
Seeds, cereal
How it is grown
Plants can be grown from seed or by division of the plant.