Hort. Berol. 1: 204 (1827).- Type: Roxburgh, India (iso- BR,K).
Panicum frumentaceum Roxb., Fl. Indica 1: 307 (1820), non Salisb.
Regional litterature: FTEA: 559 (1982).
Description:
* Robust annual of 0.3-1.5 m high. Culms erect. Leaves broad, 10-30 cm long and 5-20 mm wide; ligule absent; sheath glabrous.
* Inflorescence lanceolate, 6-20 cm long. The racemes several-rowed with crowded spikelets, 1-3 cm long, simple, closely spaced and overlapping.
* Spikelets broadly elliptic to rotund, 2.5-3.5 mm long, plum, sometimes gaping, tardely deciduous, yellowish or pallid, pubescent to hirsute,. Lower floret barren; upper lemma 2-3 mm long.
Distribution West Africa: introduced Gambia, Togo, Nigeria.
Distribution world-wide: DRC, introduced in tropics and subtropics worldwide.
Note: Cultigen from India, derived from E. colona; dense heads of pallid spikelets where lower floret lacks stamens.