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Digitaria exilis
Digitaria exilis is a species of grass that is referred to as findi or fundi in areas of Africa such as The Gambia, with the English common names white fonio, fonio millet, hungry rice, and acha rice.
It is the most important of a diverse group of wild and domesticated Digitaria species known as fonio that are harvested in the savannas of West Africa. The grains are very small. It has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable use of the land.
Fonio has continued to be important locally because it is both nutritious and one of the world's fastest growing cereals, reaching maturity in as little as six to eight weeks. It is a crop that can be relied on in semi-arid areas with poor soils, where rains are brief and unreliable.
The small grains make it difficult and time-consuming to remove the husk. Traditional methods include pounding it in a mortar with sand, while more recent methods include a fonio husking machine. The grains are used to make foods such as porridge.
The fonio is an annual, erect herbaceous plant which reaches stature heights from 30 to 80 centimeters. The ears consist of two to five narrow part ears, which are up to 15 centimeters long. The spikelets comprise a sterile flower and a fertile flower, the latter of which gives rise to the fonio grain. The grain is a caryopsis, which remains surrounded by glumes and husks. Its size is very small, only 1.5 mm (around 2,000 seeds to 1 gram). The colour ranges from white, yellow and purple.
Fonio matures faster than all other cereals. Some varieties can already be harvested 42–56 days after sowing. Others ripen more slowly, usually in 165–180 days.
The genetic diversity of D. exilis varies from region to region in Africa. For example, not much genetic diversity was detected among the domesticated D. exilis landraces from Mali. In contrast, large levels of genetic diversity were detected among the domesticated D. exilis landraces of the Upper Niger River Basin of West Africa. The many different landraces of D. exilis are affected differently by the various processing methods.
Compared to starches like D. iburua and Eleusine coracana, D. exilis has more branched molecules. This was an important finding because although it has more branched molecules, it has fewer chains than the other starches which is unusual chemically. Aside from these differences, most other chemical characteristics were very similar to rice which was not surprising because D. exilis and rice are both starches of the A. crystalline type. Additionally, the microstructure of D. exilis was studied, and it was discovered that it is very similar to the grain millets. Researchers found that D. exilis is most abundant in protein bodies and that most of the protein is located towards the center of the cell. The specific structure of Digitaria exilis was analyzed and it was found that it is surrounded by thin bracts and two glumes. The caryopsis, a type of fruit that contains a pericarp that is fused with a thin seed coat, of the D. exilis contains several layers that serve the purpose of protecting the endosperm and embryonic tissues.
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Digitaria exilis
Digitaria exilis is a species of grass that is referred to as findi or fundi in areas of Africa such as The Gambia, with the English common names white fonio, fonio millet, hungry rice, and acha rice.
It is the most important of a diverse group of wild and domesticated Digitaria species known as fonio that are harvested in the savannas of West Africa. The grains are very small. It has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable use of the land.
Fonio has continued to be important locally because it is both nutritious and one of the world's fastest growing cereals, reaching maturity in as little as six to eight weeks. It is a crop that can be relied on in semi-arid areas with poor soils, where rains are brief and unreliable.
The small grains make it difficult and time-consuming to remove the husk. Traditional methods include pounding it in a mortar with sand, while more recent methods include a fonio husking machine. The grains are used to make foods such as porridge.
The fonio is an annual, erect herbaceous plant which reaches stature heights from 30 to 80 centimeters. The ears consist of two to five narrow part ears, which are up to 15 centimeters long. The spikelets comprise a sterile flower and a fertile flower, the latter of which gives rise to the fonio grain. The grain is a caryopsis, which remains surrounded by glumes and husks. Its size is very small, only 1.5 mm (around 2,000 seeds to 1 gram). The colour ranges from white, yellow and purple.
Fonio matures faster than all other cereals. Some varieties can already be harvested 42–56 days after sowing. Others ripen more slowly, usually in 165–180 days.
The genetic diversity of D. exilis varies from region to region in Africa. For example, not much genetic diversity was detected among the domesticated D. exilis landraces from Mali. In contrast, large levels of genetic diversity were detected among the domesticated D. exilis landraces of the Upper Niger River Basin of West Africa. The many different landraces of D. exilis are affected differently by the various processing methods.
Compared to starches like D. iburua and Eleusine coracana, D. exilis has more branched molecules. This was an important finding because although it has more branched molecules, it has fewer chains than the other starches which is unusual chemically. Aside from these differences, most other chemical characteristics were very similar to rice which was not surprising because D. exilis and rice are both starches of the A. crystalline type. Additionally, the microstructure of D. exilis was studied, and it was discovered that it is very similar to the grain millets. Researchers found that D. exilis is most abundant in protein bodies and that most of the protein is located towards the center of the cell. The specific structure of Digitaria exilis was analyzed and it was found that it is surrounded by thin bracts and two glumes. The caryopsis, a type of fruit that contains a pericarp that is fused with a thin seed coat, of the D. exilis contains several layers that serve the purpose of protecting the endosperm and embryonic tissues.