Eleusine is a genus of Asian, African, and South American plants in the grass family,Gaertner, Joseph. 1788. De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum 1: pages 7–8 descriptions and figure captions in LatinGaertner, Joseph. 1788. De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum 1: Plate I (1), figure XI (11 a-i) line drawings of Eleusine coracana sometimes referred to by the common name goosegrass.Multilingual Eleusine common namesUS Department of Agriculture Plants Profile
Several species of Eleusine are useful, with Eleusine coracana in particular, also known as finger millet, being cultivated as a cereal grain in India and parts of Africa since the third millennium BCE. One species, Eleusine indica, is a widespread weed.
Species Eleusine africana – Africa (from South Africa to Egypt + Senegal), Madagascar, Comoros, Sinai, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman Eleusine coracana – tropical Africa; naturalized in parts of Asia (Arabia, India, China, Japan, Indonesia, etc.), Western Australia, Fiji, Micronesia, etc. Eleusine floccifolia – Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen Eleusine indica – Asia, Africa, Papuasia; naturalized in Mediterranean, Australia, Americas, various islands Eleusine intermedia – Kenya, Ethiopia Eleusine jaegeri – Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda Eleusine kigeziensis – Ethiopia, Uganda, Zaïre, Rwanda, Burundi Eleusine multiflora – Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Eritrea, Yemen, Saudi Arabia; naturalized in South Africa, Mexico, Lesotho Eleusine semisterilis – Kenya Eleusine tristachya – Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile incl Juan Fernández Islands
Formerly included Some species previously included in the Eleusine genus are now considered better suited to other genera. These include Acrachne, Aeluropus, Chloris, Coelachyrum, Dactyloctenium, Dinebra, Disakisperma,Eragrostis, Harpochloa, Leptochloa, Ochthochloa, Sclerodactylon, Uniola and Wangenheimia.
References
External links Jepson Manual Treatment Grass Manual Treatment