Plant · P-721

Niger Seed

Guizotia abyssinica

Niger is a fast annual daisy relative grown for its small black seed, pressed for a mild, nutty cooking oil used the way olive oil is. What is left after pressing becomes a protein-rich cake fed to cattle, sheep and poultry, and the whole seed doubles as standard birdseed for finches. It only sets a crop where days run short - about 13 hours of daylight or less - and it needs bees on hand to pollinate it, since a single plant cannot fertilize itself. The pressed cake does not keep well; stored damp or for more than a few months it grows a carcinogenic mold toxin, so it needs feeding out fresh or drying properly first.