Millets and Panic-grasses
What are they?
Plants called millets are not all necessarily closely related, but they do have a similarity in their flowers, which tend to consist of small, rounded, ball-like structures, either carried at the ends of thin and wiry stems, or clustered into dense spikes. Millet is a rather generic, non-botanical term, used for seemingly almost any crop grass that isn't a cereal or a rice! True millets (perhaps) could be said to be in the genus Panicum, but plants in Setaria, Echinochloa, Eleusine, Eragrostis, Digitaria, Paspalum, Brachiaria, Spodiopogon, Sorghum and Coix are all grown as millet somewhere in the world.
Where are they found?
We have two, small, native species on this page, but most are crop species that are most often found in conservation headland strips around arable fields (often in association with Maize for Pheasant cover) or appear from time to time in urban environments where self-sown from spilt birdfood.
Identification
Click here for help with some of the terminology used on the grass pages; in particular, you will find a picture of the florets of Common Millet which shows the position of the glumes and lemma. Because some species are grown in cultivated forms which are the product of human selection, some can be rather variable in their appearance, but those likely to be found in our region should be covered on this page in the forms that occur here. Some species are visually identifiable from the photographs, while others (such as the Echinochloa species) may require very careful attention to the flower structures (including measurements).
Common Millet Panicum miliaceum
(Proso Millet, White Millet, Broomcorn Millet). An introduced annual from Asia. A very common component of birdseed and widely used in agricultural 'game cover' mixes. Flowers August to October. Plants 20-120cm in height. Leaves 8-25mm wide, broad with a pale midrib and slightly undulate, typically hairless but occasionally with down along the midrib below. Leaf sheaths rounded, very hairy. Ligule a row of tiny hairs, 1-1.2mm in length. Flower spikes dense with many branches, up to 30cm in length, soon nodding with the weight of the florets - especially in large-fruited, cultivated forms. Spikelets 4-6mm, two-flowered, the lower male or sterile, the upper bisexual. Glumes unequal, the lower half to three-quarters as long as the spikelet, the upper as long as the spikelet. Lemmas smooth and shiny, becoming hardened with age. Note that the name 'White Millet' is also used for other species, especially Echinochloa frumentacea.
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Common Millet varieties Panicum miliaceum cultivars
(Red Millet) Over time, various forms of Common Millet have been introduced as 'game cover' or to provide seed for birdseed products. Most are clearly identifiable as Common Millet as illustrated above, but some have more open and more strongly weeping flowerheads. Currently, such forms are grown as 'Red Millet' and are popular in 'game cover' strips, from where they occasionally self-seed into neighbouring land margins. Cultivated varieties are often sold under creative names, such as Panicum violaceum. Note that the name 'Red Millet' is also often used for reddish-flowered forms of Foxtail Bristle-grass.
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Great Millet Sorghum bicolor
(Sorghum). An introduced annual from Africa. A common component of birdseed and widely used in agricultural 'game cover' mixes. Flowers July to September. Plants to 250cm in height, though often shorter in modern varieties. Plants green or with a bluish 'bloom', especially on the stems. Leaves up to 60mm wide, broad with a pale midrib and slightly undulate, typically hairless except towards the base. Leaf sheaths rounded, loose. Ligule membranous, 1-1.2mm in length. Flower spikes dense to open with many branches, 15-30cm in length, upright and standing proud of the leaves. Spikelets clustered in threes, the outer two sterile. These three-flowered spikelets are arranged in pairs and these pairs further clustered in 2-4 spikelet-pairs on the branches of the flower spike. Glumes more or less equal. Lemmas smooth and shiny, becoming hardened with age.
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Common Cockspur-grass Echinochloa crus-galli
(Barnyard-grass) An introduced annual, frequently planted for pheasant cover on field margins or occurring from bird feeder spillage. Flowers August to October. Plants 30-120cm in height, forming loosely tufted clumps. Leaf blades broad, 10-20mm wide, with a pale midrib. Leaf sheaths keeled and smooth. Ligule absent. Flower spike upright at first, later strongly arching as the spikelets mature and with well spaced branches. Lowest branches often up to 10cm long and often further branched at the base. Spikelets 3-4mm, globular and densely packed, with two florets - the lower sterile or less often male and the upper bisexual. Lemmas unawned, or lower lemmas with an awn up to 5cm in length.
Compared with the other Echinochloa species covered here, this species tends to have a rather untidy look due to the presence of awns on its florets and the less regular arrangement of the spikelets.
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Shama Millet Echinochloa colonum
An introduced annual, occasionally planted for pheasant cover on field margins or occurring from bird feeder spillage. Flowers August to October. Plants 30-120cm in height, forming loosely tufted clumps. Leaf blades broad, up to 10mm wide, with a pale midrib. Leaf sheaths keeled and smooth. Ligule absent. Flower spike with well spaced branches. Lowest branches typically no more than 3cm long and not further branched at the base. Spikelets 1.5-3mm, arranged neatly in four rows, globular and densely packed, with two florets - the lower more often male, or sterile and the upper bisexual. Lemmas unawned, lightly pubescent.
Resembles a small, un-awned Cockspur-grass and some cultivated stock may be hybrids between the two as they can be very difficult to tell apart and appear to show intermediate characters.
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Japanese Millet Echinochloa esculenta
An introduced annual, occasionally planted for pheasant cover on field margins or occurring from bird feeder spillage. Flowers June to August. Plants 30-100cm in height, forming loosely tufted clumps. Leaf blades broad, up to 25mm wide, with a pale midrib. Leaf sheaths keeled and smooth. Ligule absent. Flower spike upright with the branches held tightly together. Spikelets 3-4mm, arranged neatly in four rows, globular and densely packed, deep green and usually washed with purple. Lemmas unawned, often with scabrid hairs along the veins.
Originated as a cultivated form of Cockspur-grass in Japan.
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Wood Millet Milium effusum
A native perennial of mature and well-managed woodland on boulder clay and damper soils; probably also occurs where seed is put out for pheasants. Flowers May to July. Plants 50-180cm in height, forming loose tussocks. Leaves 5-15mm wide, flat, dull green, hairless. Leaf sheaths rounded, smooth. Ligule membranous, 3-10mm in length. Flower spikes tall, graceful and open, 10-40cm in length with small clusters of spikelets. Spikelets 3-4mm, one-flowered, clustered towards the ends of slightly reflexed branchlets. Glumes as long as the spikelet, greenish with pale margins. Lemmas very smooth and shiny, becoming hardened with age.
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Wood Melick Melica uniflora
A native perennial of mature and well-managed woodland on boulder clay. Flowers May to July. Plants 20-60cm in height, forming leafy patches from creeping rhizomes. Leaves 3-7mm wide, flat, bright green, downy, finely pointed at the tip. Leaf sheaths rounded, hairy. Ligule membranous, short. Flower spikes graceful and open with few branches, 6-22cm in length with few spikelets, all near the tips of the slender branches. Spikelets 4-7mm, each containing a single, fertile flower and 2-3 sterile lemmas. Glumes as long as the spikelet, typically brownish or pinkish-purple in colour. Lemmas smooth, rounded and blunt-tipped. A very distintive grass but small and easily overlooked. though often grows in great quantity in well-managed woodland.
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Witch-grass Panicum capillare
An introduced annual from North America, occasionally appearing self-sown from spilt grain or birdseed, or spreading from ornamental plantings in amenity areas. Flowers August to October. Plants 20-80cm in height. Leaves 5-15mm wide, shortly hairy on the midrib below. Leaf sheaths rounded, hairy. Ligule 1-3mm in length. Flower spikes with many, very thin, wispy branches that soon spread out widely, forming a broad, feathery head. At maturity, the entire head breaks away from the stem like a tumbleweed. Spikelets tiny, 2-3.5mm, two-flowered, the lower sterile, the upper bisexual. Glumes and lemmas all awnless.
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Spreading Panic-grass Panicum dichotomiflorum
(Autumn Millet) An introduced annual from North America, recorded once at Kings Lynn, perhaps from soya bean waste. Flowers August to October. Plants 50-200cm in height, upright at first but often collapsing over and sprawling. Stems rather succulent. Leaves 2-20mm wide, lightly hairy with a pale midrib. Leaf sheaths keeled, smooth. Ligule a ring of hairs, 1-2mm in length. Flower spikes with many, thin, spreading branches. Spikelets shortly stalked, 2.7-3.5mm, two-flowered, the lower sterile, the upper bisexual. Glumes and lemmas all awnless.
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