Echinochloa frumentacea (Indian barnyard millet, sawa millet, or billion dollar grass)[2] is a species of Echinochloa. Both Echinochloa frumentacea and E. esculenta are called Japanese millet. This millet is widely grown as a cereal in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Its wild ancestor is the tropical grass Echinochloa colona,[3] but the exact date or region of domestication is uncertain. It is cultivated on marginal lands where rice and other crops will not grow well. The grains are cooked in water, like rice, or boiled with milk and sugar. Sometimes it is fermented to make beer. While also being part of staple diet for some communities in India, these seeds are, in particular, (cooked and) eaten during religiousfasting (willingly abstaining from some types of food / food ingredients). For this reason, these seeds are commonly also referred to as "vrat ke chawal" in Hindi (i.e., "rice for fasting", literally). Other common names to identify these seeds include oodalu (ಊದಲು) in Kannada, Shyamak (শ্যামাক) or Shyama Chal (শ্যামা চাল) in Bangla, jhangora in the Garhwal Hills, bhagar (भगर) in Marathi-speaking areas, samo or morio (mario, moraiaya) seeds in Gujarati, bonthasaamalu (బొంతసామలు) in Telugu,[4] and kuthiraivaali (குதிரைவாளி) in Tamil.
^Hilu, Khidir W. (1994). "Evidence from RAPD markers in the evolution of Echinochloa millets (Poaceae)". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 189 (3): 247–257. doi:10.1007/BF00939730. S2CID33838562.
