Eleusine coracana (African finger millet, Ragi) 

osgras [Afrikaans]; uphoko [Zulu; mpogo [Pedi]; majolothi [Ndabele]; mufhoho [Venda]

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) >  Monocotyledons >  Order: Poales > Family: Poaceae

This species was domesticated in Africa from the wild form Eleusine africana more that 5000 years ago (this dating is based on the seeds found in a 5000 year old archaeological site in Ethiopia). In southen Africa it has been cultivated since the Iron Age. 

Within southern Africa, African finger millet is favoured as a source of malt for brewing of beer because of the sweetness it gives the malt. Further north in Africa it is used more commonly as a source of food such as porridge (e.g. in Zambia and Malawi). Plants are harvested by hand using a knife and are then stored whole until needed. After threshing (beating out of the seeds) and winnowing (separating off of the chaff [i.e. outer husks] using the wind), the seeds are ground between stones to produce flour or germinated to produce malt. 

Ecological relationships

Publications

• van Wyk, B.-E. & Gericke, N. 2000. People's Plants. A Guide to Useful Plants of Southern Africa. Briza Publications, Pretoria.