About 20 species of 10 genera of grasses are called millet. They are annuals with a short growing season and have small seeds, generally of low quality for human nutrition.
Millets are some of the oldest cultivated crops, and have been used since ancient times. They were grown by the lake dwellers of Switzerland in the Stone Age, and were sown by the Chinese in religious ceremony as early as 2700 BC.
Sorghum is a special type of millet with large seeds, typically used for animal feed, but it is the primary food grain in many parts of the world where it is ground and made into porridge and cakes. It is also used to yield oil, sugars and alcoholic beverages.
Pearl millet has a large number of cultivated races that provides the staple food in the drier parts of Africa and India.
Seed grasses of millet
