Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Pennisetum glaucum - Bullrush millet, Pearl millet

Edible parts:  Seeds, Cereal

A millet grass. It is an annual grass. It grows to 3 m tall. The leaf blades are 20-100 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. The flower is dense and 40-50 cm long by 1.2-1.5 cm wide. They also vary a lot in shape and size. Plants that tiller produce smaller heads. The species varies a lot. There are 13 cultivated, 15 weed and 6 wild races of this grass. It has a cylindrical ear like a bullrush. The grains are small and round and have a shiny grey colour like pearls. There are thousands of cultivated varieties.

A tropical plant. It suits regions with a short growing season. It grows in areas with less than 600 mm of rainfall. It is often in hot places. (It is replaced with sorghum between 600 and 1200 mm rainfall and then by finger millet or maize above 1200 mm rainfall.) It is important in the drier areas of India and Pakistan. It can grow in arid places.