Taxon: Eleusine africana Kenn.-O’Byrne

Summary

Genus:

Eleusine

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Chloridoideae

Tribe:

Cynodonteae

Subtribe:

Eleusininae

Nomen number:

315751

Place of publication:

Kew Bull. 1957:65. 1957

Verified:

11/29/2011 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

3 (2 active, 2 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. subsp. africana (Kenn.-O’Byrne) Hilu & de Wet

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

African plant database. Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques Ville de Geneve.
PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Aldow, A. et al. 2023. Conservation of crop wild relative diversity in Northeast Africa: Checklist and prioritization. Crop Sci. (Madison) 2023:1-13. DOI: 10.1002/csc2.21083. Note: Eleusine africana is considered part of the primary gene pool of finger millet
Chennaveeraiah, M. S. & S. C. Hiremath. 1974. Genome analysis of Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. Euphytica 23:489-495. Note: Netherlands journal of plant breeding
Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques & South African National Biodiversity Institute. African flowering plants database (on-line resource).
de Wet, J. M. J. et al. 1984. Systematics and evolution of Eleusine coracana (Gramineae). Amer. J. Bot. 71:552.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America. Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2 Note: treats as Eleusine indica subsp. africana (Kenn.-O'Byrne) S. M. Phillips
Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58 Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Hilu, K. W. & J. M. J. de Wet. 1976. Domestication of Eleusine coracana. Econ. Bot. 30:199. Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
Hiremath, S. C. & S. S. Salimath. 1992. The 'A' genome donor of Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. (Gramineae). Theor. Appl. Genet. 84:747-754. Note: as tetraploid ancestor of Eleusine coracana
Kellogg, E. A. et al. 2020. Checklist of the grasses of India. PhytoKeys 163:506. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.163.38393.
Liu, Q. et al. 2014. Low-copy nuclear gene and McGISH resolves polyploid history of Eleusine coracana and morphological character evolution in Eleusine. Turk. J. Bot. 38:1-12.
Mallikharjun, D. R. et al. 2005. Genome interrelationship in the genus Eleusine (Poaceae) as revealed through heteroploid crosses. Caryologia 58:300-307.
Peterson, P. M. et al. 2015. A molecular phylogeny and classification of the Eleusininae with a new genus, Micrachne (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Cynodonteae). Taxon 64:445-467. DOI: 10.12705/643.5. Note: based on combined ITS and plastid data support recognition of Eleusine africana at the species level
Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia. Note: = Eleusine indica subsp. africana (Kenn.-O'Byrne) S. M. Phillips
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa. Note: = Eleusine indica subsp. africana (Kenn.-O'Byrne) S. M. Phillips

Common names

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Eritrea	Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia	Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan	Hilu, K. W. & J. M. J. de Wet. 1976. Domestication of Eleusine coracana. Econ. Bot. 30:199. Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi	Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique	Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia	Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe	Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana	Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini	Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58 Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Lesotho	Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58 Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia	Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58 Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58 Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Ghana	Hilu, K. W. & J. M. J. de Wet. 1976. Domestication of Eleusine coracana. Econ. Bot. 30:199. Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea	Hilu, K. W. & J. M. J. de Wet. 1976. Domestication of Eleusine coracana. Econ. Bot. 30:199. Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria	Hilu, K. W. & J. M. J. de Wet. 1976. Domestication of Eleusine coracana. Econ. Bot. 30:199. Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Burundi	Hilu, K. W. & J. M. J. de Wet. 1976. Domestication of Eleusine coracana. Econ. Bot. 30:199. Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Hilu, K. W. & J. M. J. de Wet. 1976. Domestication of Eleusine coracana. Econ. Bot. 30:199. Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Rwanda	Hilu, K. W. & J. M. J. de Wet. 1976. Domestication of Eleusine coracana. Econ. Bot. 30:199. Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa

Reference(s)

Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58 Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Hilu, K. W. & J. M. J. de Wet. 1976. Domestication of Eleusine coracana. Econ. Bot. 30:199. Note: as Eleusine coracana subsp. africana

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=315751. Accessed 17 April 2026.