Pearl millet

Pearl millet
Pearl millet hybrid for grain
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Genus: Cenchrus
Species:
C. americanus
Binomial name
Cenchrus americanus
(L.) Morrone
Synonyms[1]
List
    • Alopecurus typhoides Burm.f.
    • Andropogon racemosus (Forssk.) Poir. ex Steud.
    • Cenchrus paniceus B.Heyne ex Wall.
    • Cenchrus pycnostachyus Steud.
    • Cenchrus spicatus (L.) Cav.
    • Chaetochloa glauca (L.) Scribn.
    • Chaetochloa lutescens Stuntz
    • Chamaeraphis glauca (L.) Kuntze
    • Holcus paniciformis Roxb. ex Hook.f.
    • Holcus racemosus Forssk.
    • Holcus spicatus L.
    • Ixophorus glaucus (L.) Nash
    • Panicum alopecuroides J.Koenig ex Trin.
    • Panicum americanum L.
    • Panicum coeruleum Mill.
    • Panicum compressum Balb. ex Steud.
    • Panicum glaucum L.
    • Panicum holcoides Trin.
    • Panicum indicum Mill.
    • Panicum involucratum Roxb.
    • Panicum spicatum (L.) Roxb.
    • Penicillaria arabica A.Braun
    • Penicillaria deflexa Andersson ex A.Braun
    • Penicillaria elongata Schrad. ex Schltdl.
    • Penicillaria involucrata (Roxb.) Schult.
    • Penicillaria nigritarum Schltdl.
    • Penicillaria plukenetii Link
    • Penicillaria roxburghii A.Braun
    • Penicillaria solitaria Stokes
    • Penicillaria spicata (L.) Willd.
    • Pennisetum albicauda Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
    • Pennisetum americanum convar. spicatum (L.) Tzvelev
    • Pennisetum americanum convar. typhoides Tzvelev
    • Pennisetum ancylochaete Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
    • Pennisetum aureum Link
    • Pennisetum cereale Trin.
    • Pennisetum cinereum Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
    • Pennisetum echinurus (K.Schum.) Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
    • Pennisetum gambiense Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
    • Pennisetum gibbosum Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
    • Pennisetum giganteum Ten. ex Steud.
    • Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.
    • Pennisetum leonis Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
    • Pennisetum maiwa Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
    • Pennisetum malacochaete Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
    • Pennisetum megastachyum Steud.
    • Pennisetum nigritarum (Schltdl.) T.Durand & Schinz
    • Pennisetum plukenetii (Link) T.Durand & Schinz
    • Pennisetum pycnostachyum Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
    • Pennisetum spicatum (L.) Körn.
    • Phleum africanum Lour.
    • Setaria glauca (L.) P.Beauv.
    • Setaria rufa Chevall.
    • Setaria sericea (Aiton) P.Beauv.
    • Setariopsis glauca (L.) Samp.

Pearl millet (Cenchrus americanus, commonly known as the synonym Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely grown type of millet. It has been grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times. The center of diversity, and suggested area of domestication, for the crop is in the Sahel zone of West Africa.[2] Recent archaeobotanical research has confirmed the presence of domesticated pearl millet on the Sahel zone of northern Mali between 2500 and 2000 BC.[3][4] 2023 was the International Year of Millets, declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2021.[5]

  1. ^ "Cenchrus americanus (L.) Morrone". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  2. ^ Winchell, Frank; Brass, Michael; Manzo, Andrea; Beldados, Alemseged; Perna, Valentina; Murphy, Charlene; Stevens, Chris; Fuller, Dorian Q. (2018-12-01). "On the Origins and Dissemination of Domesticated Sorghum and Pearl Millet across Africa and into India: a View from the Butana Group of the Far Eastern Sahel". African Archaeological Review. 35 (4): 483–505. doi:10.1007/s10437-018-9314-2. ISSN 1572-9842. PMC 6394749. PMID 30880862.
  3. ^ Manning K, Pelling R, Higham T, et al. (2011). "4500-year-old domesticated pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) from the Tilemsi Valley, Mali: new insights into an alternative cereal domestication pathway". Journal of Archaeological Science. 38 (2): 312–322. Bibcode:2011JArSc..38..312M. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.09.007. ISSN 0305-4403.
  4. ^ Fuller, D.Q. (2003). "African crops in prehistoric South Asia: a critical review". In Neumann K, Butler A, Kahlheber S (eds.). Food, Fuel and Fields: Progress in Africa Archaeobotany. Africa Praehistorica. Vol. 15. Cologne: Heinrich-Barth-Institut. pp. 239–271. ISBN 3-927688-20-7.
  5. ^ "International Year of Millets 2023". United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. 2022.