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Eragrostis tef
Poaceae FAMILY

Eragrostis tef

Eragrostis tef

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual
Growth—

Succeeds in any good loam or humus-rich soil in a sunny position[1]. Tef is cultivated for its seed in Ethiopia where it is a staple crop, there are many named varieties[2, 3]. It is occasionally cultivated for its seed in Europe[4] but is more commonly grown as an ornamental[1]. Plants can mature in 4 months from seed in warm climates[5], the crop is more problematic in Britain due to the cooler summers[PFAF]. Plants tend to lodge[5].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse, only just covering the seed. Germination is usually very quick and free. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out after the last expected frosts. The seed can also be sown in situ in late mid spring, but in cool summers this might not give a long enough growing season to ripen the crop[6]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Eragrostis+tef>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  3. [3]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  4. [4]Flora Europaea — ? · Cambridge University Press · 1964 · ISBN - ↩︎An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
  5. [5]Wonder Crops. 1987. — Natural Food Institute, ↩︎Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.
  6. [6]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  7. [7]Plants for Man. — Schery. R. W. ↩︎Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
  8. [8]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎