Herb: Japanese Millet


Latin name: Echinochloa frumentacea


Synonyms: Echinochloa crus-galli frumentacea, Panicum frumentaceum


Family: Gramineae (Grass Family)



Medicinal use of Japanese Millet:

The plant is useful in the treatment of biliousness and constipation.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Annual


Height:
180 cm
(6 feet)

Flowering:
July to
September

Habitat of the herb:

Not known in a truly wild situation.

Edible parts of Japanese Millet:

Seed - cooked and used as a millet. The seed can be cooked whole or can be ground into a flour. Usually eaten as a porridge. The seed contains about 72.5% starch, 3.12% fat, 11.8% protein, 2.65% ash.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer. A sowing in situ in late spring might also succeed but is unlikely to ripen a crop of seed if the summer is cool and wet.

Cultivation of Japanese Millet:

Not known in a truly wild situation.

Known hazards of Echinochloa frumentacea:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.