Setaria italica
Foxtail Millet
an annual member of the Setaria genus in the family Gramineae.
Taxonomy and growth
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - cooked[7][10][11]. It can be eaten as a sweet or savoury food in all the ways that rice is used, or ground into a flour and made into porridge, cakes, puddings etc[1][6]. The seed can also be sprouted before it is used, when it will become somewhat sweeter[K]. A nutritional analysis is available[9].
- Plant part
- Seed
Medicinal uses
Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
The germinated seed of yellow-seeded cultivars is astringent, digestive, emollient and stomachic[4][5][9]. It is used in the treatment of dyspepsia, poor digestion and food stagnancy in the abdomen[4]. White seeds are refrigerant and used in the treatment of cholera and fever[9]. Green seeds are diuretic and strengthening to virility[9].
- Product or use
- Appetizer
- Product or use
- Astringent
- Product or use
- Digestive
- Product or use
- Diuretic
- Product or use
- Emollient
- Product or use
- Refrigerant
- Product or use
- Stomachic
Environment
- Range
- Asia? The origin is obscure, the plant is a casual in Britain[3].
- Habitat
- Not known in a truly wild situation.
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 6+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerances
- drought
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- tolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination is usually quick and good. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on fast. Plant them out in late spring, after the last expected frosts. Whilst this is fine for small quantities, it would be an extremely labour intensive method if larger amounts were to be grown. The seed can be sown in situ in the middle of spring though it is then later in coming into flower and may not ripen its seed in a cool summer.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Succeeds in any well-drained soil in full sun[2]. Established plants are very drought resistant[12][13]. Often cultivated for its edible seed in tropical and warm temperate areas, there are many named varieties[6]. Because the plant flowers in late summer there are problems with harvesting a good crop of seed in Britain. Apart from that, the plant grows well here.
References
Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00
Grounds. R. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-7470-1219-9
Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00
Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985-00-00
Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press 1975-00-00
Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00
Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202