Digitaria iburua
Stapf
Black acha, Black fonio
Wikimedia Commons - Krzysztof Golik
Krzysztof Golik (via Wikimedia Commons)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Seeds, Cereal
The seeds are used as a cereal grain, prepared into a couscous locally known as wusu-wusu and also used to prepare beer.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It is cultivated as a cereal in the Hausa region in northern Nigeria. It grows between 400-1,000 m altitude in West Africa. It grows in areas with a rainfall of 900-1,000 mm per year. It grows in the savannah.
Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Togo, West Africa,
How to Identify
A wild millet grass. It is slightly taller than Fonio (Digitaria exilis). It forms loose tufts. It grows 1.4 m high. It has 4 to 10 racemes per inflorescence. The spikelets are dark brown but the grain is white.
Nutrition Score: 57/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seeds raw | 10.3 | 1470 | 343 | 8.9 | — | — | 10 | — |
| Seeds cooked | 62.6 | 622 | 147 | 3.7 | 0 | — | 4.1 | 0.82 |
How to Grow
It is often grown intercropped with sorgum or pearl millet. It is also grown mixed with fonio (Digitaria exilis).
Propagation: Seed - best sown in situ, only just covering the seed. The seed normally germinates 2 - 4 days after sowing and grows rapidly.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Digitaria iburua, commonly known as iburu, is a grass species native to west and west-central tropical Africa, which is cultivated as a grain crop known as black fonio. Iburu (D. iburua) is closely related to white fonio (D. exilis), a cereal that is more widely grown across West Africa. However, Iburu is taller than fonio, but has smaller grain than fonio. This makes harvesting the grains very labor-intensive. Iburu is mainly grown in the Middle Belt of central Nigeria, as well as in Zinder, Niger.
Other Information
It is important on the Jos plateau in Nigeria. It is a cultivated plant in some places.
Notes
There are about 250 Digitaria species.
Names & Synonyms
Aburu, Afio-warun, Fonio-ga, Iburo, Iburu, Ipoaga
References (18)
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- USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Available: www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/econ.pl (10 April 2000)
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- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
