Chicken millets
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Shama Millet ( Echinochloa colonum ) |
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| Echinochloa | ||||||||||||
| P.Beauv. |
The chicken millet ( Echinochloa ) are a genus of sweet grasses that are native to the warmer regions of the world. Some species are cultivated as forage grasses.
description
In the genus there are both annual and perennial species with often rough and rigid stems.
The leaves are flat and linear to broadly linear. A ligula is absent or consists only of short eyelashes. The lower part of the leaf sheath is strongly flattened in some species.
The inflorescence consists of a central axis from which grapes branch off. These partial inflorescences are densely covered with spikelets, which are so short-stalked that the grapes almost look like ears . The spikelets are paired, with one spikelet almost sessile in each pair, one more or less clearly stalked. In some species these spikelet pairs are drawn together in groups in turn into grape-like partial inflorescences. The spikelet pairs stand in two to four rows, which, however, are often not particularly easy to recognize due to this contraction.
The spikelets are double-flowered, with the lower flower reduced to the outer glume. This makes it appear that each spikelet has three glumes . In terms of shape, the spikelets are narrowly elliptical to rounded. They are often hairy with short bristles or with short spines. The husks are pointed to very short and thickly awned. The lowest glume is only 1/4 to 1/2 times as long as the spikelet. The two upper glumes then envelop the spikelet and have 5–7 more or less protruding ribs.
The uppermost palea has a bent back tip, which, however, is mostly hidden under the glumes and lemmas. Nevertheless, this bent palea tip, together with the missing ligula, is an important feature that distinguishes the genus from closely related genera, e.g. B. the genus Brachiaria .
Distribution and location requirements
The chicken millet is mainly found in the tropics and warmer areas around the world. Some species also invade the temperate zones.
All species prefer damp or wet locations.
species
The genus Echinochloa consists of about 20 to 35 species. Here is a selection:
- Shama millet ( Echinochloa colonum (L.) Link ) is cultivated in India and East Africa as a fodder and grain ("Schama" or "Chindumba"). Originally it occurs in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World.
- Chicken millet ( Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv. ) Occurs worldwide in areas with temperate or warm climates. In Europe , it can become an annoying weed in gardens or in fields.
- Japanese millet ( Echinochloa frumentacea Link ), is grown in East Asia and North America as a food or as a fodder crop.
- Bristle barnyard millet ( Echinochloa muricata (P. Beauv.) Fernald ), it is similar to Echinochloa crus-galli . It occurs from central and eastern Canada to the United States.
- Echinochloa oryzoides (Ard.) Fritsch (Syn .: Echinochloa oryzicola Vasinger ) can, just like the chicken millet ( Echinochloa crus-galli ), be very similar to the rice ( Oryza ), in whose fields it can appear as a weed. It occurs from the Caucasus to Japan and the Philippines.
- Echinochloa turneriana (Domin) JMBlack : It occurs in central and eastern Australia.
Sources and further information
literature
- Dietmar Aichele, Heinz-Werner Schwegler: Our grasses . 7th edition. Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Kosmos-Naturführer, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-440-05284-2 .
- Werner Rothmaler : Excursion flora for the areas of the GDR and the FRG . Volume 2: Vascular Plants, 14th Edition. People and knowledge, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-06-012539-2
- Otto Schmeil , Jost Fitschen , Werner Rauh : Flora of Germany and its adjacent areas . 84th edition. Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1968.
- Urania plant kingdom . Volume 4: Flowering Plants 2, 1st edition. Urania-Verlag, Leipzig 1994, ISBN 3-332-00497-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Echinochloa. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved February 2, 2020.