Taxon: Guizotia abyssinica (L. f.) Cass.

Summary

Genus:

Guizotia

Family:

Asteraceae (alt. Compositae)

Subfamily:

Asteroideae

Tribe:

Millerieae

Nomen number:

18068

Place of publication:

F. Cuvier, Dict. sci. nat. 59:248. 1829

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25319235

Verified:

06/10/1992 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

65 (21 active, 16 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

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

Basionym
Polymnia abyssinica L. f.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Guizotia oleifera DC.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Arianoutsou, M. et al. 2021. Alien plants of Europe: introduction, pathways, gateways and time trends. PeerJ 9:e11270. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11270. Note: listed as an alien, naturalized since the 19th century in Europe, escaped and seed contaminant
Baagøe, J. 1974. The genus Guizotia (Compositae): a taxonomic revision. Bot. Tidsskr. 69:1-39.
Demilly, D. et al. 2001. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 7 GEVES-SNES, Beaucouzé, France.
Dempewolf, H. et al. 2010. Establishing genomic tools and resources for Guizotia abyssinica (L. f.) Cass. - the development of a library of expressed sequence tags, microsatellite loci, and the sequencing of its chloroplast genome. Molec. Ecol. Resources 10:1048-1058. Note: this study examined ten plants from USDA accession PI 508077
Dempewolf, H. et al. 2010. Patterns of domestication in the Ethiopian oil-seed crop noug (Guizotia abyssinica). Ecol. Applic. 8:464-475.
Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 1444.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Gebeyehu, A. et al. 2022. RNA-Seq provides novel genomic resources for Noug (Guizotia abyssinica) and reveals microsatellite frequency and distribution in its transcriptome. Front. Plant Sci. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.882136.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Getinet, A. & S. M. Sharma. 1997. Niger. Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass. In: International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 5:1-59.
Hanson, C. G. 2019. Birdseed aliens originating from Niger (Guizotia abyssinica) wild bird food. British & Irish Bot. 1:292-308. Note: Guizotia abyssinica is an important birdseed exported from Ethiopia but seed bulk carries other Asian seed species as contaminants; however, most plants appear to belong to G. schimperi (as G. scabra subsp. schimperi)
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Kurenkova, E. M. et al. 2024. Introduction of Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass. in agroecological conditions of the Central region of the Russian Federation. 82:02017. DOI: 10.1051/bioconf/20248202017.
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Mouterde, P. 1966-. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie.
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	Niger	1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	Nigerseed	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
English	nyjer	1	Hanson, C. G. 2019. Birdseed aliens originating from Niger (Guizotia abyssinica) wild bird food. British & Irish Bot. 1:292-308. Note: Guizotia abyssinica is an important birdseed exported from Ethiopia but seed bulk carries other Asian seed species as contaminants; however, most plants appear to belong to G. schimperi (as G. scabra subsp. schimperi)
English	ramtil	1	PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
French	graines du Niger	2	Demilly, D. et al. 2001. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 7 GEVES-SNES, Beaucouzé, France.
French	guizotia oléifère	2	PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
French	noug	2	PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
German	Nigersaat	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	Ramtillkraut	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 1444.
Portuguese	niger	2	PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Portuguese	verbesina-da-Índia	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	abisin	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	negrillo	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	ramtilla	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedish	nigerfrö	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
2	Cultivated	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Eritrea			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
2	Cultivated	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	China	China			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bangladesh			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bhutan			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
2	Cultivated	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
3	Adventive	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Madeira Islands		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Lebanon			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Ontario		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Illinois		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Connecticut		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Massachusetts		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Michigan		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Ohio		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Pennsylvania		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Arkansas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maryland		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Tennessee		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
3	Adventive	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Gauteng		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Mpumalanga		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Ryukyu Islands		Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia, Sicily	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Slovenia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia

Cultivated
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Democratic Republic of the Congo
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Zambia
SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Yemen
CHINA: China

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan
MALESIA: Malaysia

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Adventive
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Madeira Islands]

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Lebanon

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: United Kingdom
MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Poland

Northern America

EASTERN CANADA: Canada [Ontario]
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Illinois]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [California]

Naturalized
Africa

SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa [Gauteng, Mpumalanga]

Asia-Temperate

EASTERN ASIA: Japan [Ryukyu Islands]

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India

Europe

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain

Reference(s)

PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	fodder	as birdseed	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Animal food	fodder	as birdseed	Terefe, M. & D. Girma. 2022. Development of molecular resource for the genetic improvement of noug (Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass): a mini review. CABI Agric. Biosci. 3:52. DOI: 10.1186/s43170-022-00121-7. Note: this review indicates efforts in the 1960s for research breeding of Guizotia abyssinica, a species mainly used for human consumption; conventional breeding has allowed development of cultivars; genetic diversity of germplasm from Ethiopia, its center of origin, has been molecular evaluated, but this has not yet being used for breeding programs
Animal food	fodder	as birdseed	Hanson, C. G. 2019. Birdseed aliens originating from Niger (Guizotia abyssinica) wild bird food. British & Irish Bot. 1:292-308. Note: Guizotia abyssinica is an important birdseed exported from Ethiopia but seed bulk carries other Asian seed species as contaminants; however, most plants appear to belong to G. schimperi (as G. scabra subsp. schimperi)
Animal food	fodder	for livestock feed	Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Environmental	soil improver		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Human food	oil/fat		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Human food	oil/fat		Terefe, M. & D. Girma. 2022. Development of molecular resource for the genetic improvement of noug (Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass): a mini review. CABI Agric. Biosci. 3:52. DOI: 10.1186/s43170-022-00121-7. Note: this review indicates efforts in the 1960s for research breeding of Guizotia abyssinica, a species mainly used for human consumption; conventional breeding has allowed development of cultivars; genetic diversity of germplasm from Ethiopia, its center of origin, has been molecular evaluated, but this has not yet being used for breeding programs
Human food	pseudocereal		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Materials	lipids	source of Niger seed oil	Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Materials	lipids	source of Niger seed oil	Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Medicines	folklore		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).

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=18068. Accessed 15 April 2026.