Poaceae FAMILY

Digitaria iburua

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual

Growth—

Black fonio is a plant of tropical areas, where it is grown at elevations of 400 - 1,300 metres in areas with an annual rainfall of 900 - 1,000mm^[1]. Though it reputedly grows well on poor soils, it is usually planted on more fertile soils in northern Nigeria^[1]. It is often grown between rows of sorghum or pearl millet, and often as a mixture with D. Exilis^[2].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in situ, only just covering the seed. The seed normally germinates 2 - 4 days after sowing and grows rapidly^[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Digitaria+iburua>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
[2]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.