Plant · P-691

Kodo Millet

Paspalum scrobiculatum

Kodo millet is an ancient cereal grass from India, cultivated for roughly 3,000 years as a grain cooked and eaten much like rice, and it can also be parched or popped. The same plant doubles as a heavy forage crop, cut for hay or silage or grazed directly by cattle and buffalo through most of its growth. In the United States the seed is listed as a federal noxious weed, so importing or moving it across a state line needs a permit arranged beforehand. Careless storage lets the developing grain pick up fungal contaminants that were once blamed on the seed itself, so harvested seed needs careful cleaning before it is safe to eat.