''Echinochloa'' is a very widespread

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of plants in the grass family and tribe

Paniceae Paniceae is a large tribe of the subfamily Panicoideae in the grasses (Poaceae), the only in the monotypic supertribe Panicodae. It includes roughly 1,500 species in 84 genera, primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Pan ...

. Some of the species are known by the common names barnyard grass or cockspur grass. Some of the species within this genus are millets that are grown as cereal or fodder crops. The most notable of these are Japanese millet (''E. esculenta'') in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

, Indian barnyard millet (''E. frumentacea'') in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

, and burgu millet (''E. stagnina'') in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

. Collectively, the members of this genus are called barnyard grasses (though this may also refer to '' E. crus-galli'' specifically), and are also known as barnyard millets or billion-dollar grasses. When not grown on purpose, these grasses may become a nuisance to farmers. In particular, common barnyard grass (''E. crus-galli'') is notorious as a weed. It is not easily suppressed with living mulches such as velvet bean (''Mucuna pruriens'' var. ''utilis''). Early barnyard grass (''E. oryzoides'') is a well-known example of

Vavilovian mimicry In plant biology, Vavilovian mimicry (also crop mimicry or weed mimicry) is a form of mimicry in plants where a weed evolves to share one or more characteristics with a domesticated plant through generations of artificial selection. It is name ...

: the plants have

evolved Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

to resemble

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

(''Oryza''), enabling them to escape

weeding Weed control is a type of pest control, which attempts to stop or reduce growth of weeds, especially noxious weeds, with the aim of reducing their competition with desired flora and fauna including domesticated plants and livestock, and in natu ...

more easily. Among the plant pathogens that affect this genus are the sac fungus ''

Cochliobolus sativus The fungus ''Cochliobolus sativus'' is the teleomorph (sexual stage) of ''Bipolaris sorokiniana'' (anamorph) which is the causal agent of a wide variety of cereal diseases. The pathogen can infect and cause disease on roots (where it is known as ...

'', which has been noted on common barnyard grass, and

rice hoja blanca virus ''Rice hoja blanca tenuivirus'' (RHBV), meaning "white leaf rice virus", is a plant virus in the family ''Phenuiviridae.'' RHBV causes Hoja blanca disease (HBD), which affects the leaves of the rice plant ''Oryza sativa'', stunting the growth of th ...

. Both affect many other grass species, in particular most important cereals, and ''Echinochloa'' weeds may serve as a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

. The fungi '' Drechslera monoceras'' and '' Exserohilum monoceras'' have been evaluated with some success as potential

biocontrol Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also in ...

agents of common barnyard grass in rice fields. More research is necessary, however, because they may not be host-specific enough to be of practical use. Insect pests include '' Atherigona falcata'', the barnyard millet shoot fly.

Species

; SpeciesGould, F. W., M. A. Ali & D. E. Fairbrothers. 1972. A revision of ''Echinochloa'' in the United States. American Midland Naturalist 87(1): 36–59 Echinochloa colona (Jungle Rice) W2 IMG 0528

Echinochloa colona (Jungle Rice) W2 IMG 0528

; Formerly included see '' Acroceras Axonopus

Brachiaria ''Brachiaria'', or signalgrass, is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, southern Europe, the Americas, and various islands.Oplismenopsis

Oplismenus ''Oplismenus'' is a small genus of annual or perennial grasses, commonly known as basketgrass, found throughout the tropics, subtropics, and in some cases, temperate regions of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The systematics of the ...

Panicum ''Panicum'' (panicgrass) is a large genus of about 450 species of grasses native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone. They are often large, annual or perennial grasses, growi ...

Paspalidium ''Paspalidium'' (watercrown grass) is a genus of tropical and subtropical plants in the grass family. ''Paspalidium'' includes about 40 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas Th ...

Pseudechinolaena

Setaria ''Setaria'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family. The name is derived from the Latin word ''seta'', meaning "bristle" or "hair", which refers to the bristly spikelets. The genus includes over 100 species distributed in many t ...

Urochloa ''Urochloa'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, native to Eurasia, Africa, Australia, Mexico, and the Pacific Islands.

References

External links

Plants for a Future: ''E. crus-galli''.

* ttp://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/millet.html ''Alternative Field Crops Manual'': Millets. {{Taxonbar, from=Q163965 Millets Grasses of Asia Grasses of North America Grasses of South America Poaceae genera Taxa named by Palisot de Beauvois