Eleusine

The Eleusine is a annual Plante of the family of the Poacée S (Graminée S), cultivated like secondary Céréale for its Graine S edible. It is a food crop in Africa central and Eastern.

Scientific name: Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn., family of the Poacée S, subfamily of the Chloridoideae , tribe of the Eragrostideae .

Common nouns: Eleusine, coracan, red millet, African millet, ragi (India). of: Korakan, in: finger millet, coracan millet, be: coracán, mijo africano, it: coracano.

Description

It is an annual plant of 40 cm 1 m from top which pushes in dense tufts. The inflorescence is a bunch from 4 to 6 ear S dense from 5 to 15 cm length. The seeds are Caryopse S ovoid from 1 to 2 mm, of color orange-chestnut.

There exist two large type of Eleusine: the African type of the mountains, with longer ears and caryopses wrapped in large glumes; and the Afro-Asian type, with shorter and thicker ears, and with caryopses naked with maturity (short glumes).

Distribution

The origin of this species seems to be in Uganda. It was introduced in India as of the pre-Aryan time, there is more than 3.000 years. It was believed a long time that it was originating in the India, where exists a close species, the Eleusine of the Indies ( Eleusine indica ) not cultivated. Eleusine was known in Egypt before the Christian era and was introduced in Europe by the Romans, but its culture always remained very limited there.

Today this species is cultivated in all the semi-arid zones of Africa and the Indian sub-continent. It adapts in mountain at rather high altitudes (up to 2.000 m).

Use

human Consumption: it is an important cereal in certain areas of Africa, in particular in Uganda, Zambia or with the Chad, and also in India. It is consumed in various forms after having been reduced in flours: pulps, wafers… and after germination, is also used to manufacture beer,
animal Feeds: seeds and fodder.

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