Digitaria iburua

Digitaria iburua, commonly known as iburu, is a grass species native to west and west-central tropical Africa,^[1] which is cultivated as a grain crop known as black fonio.^[2]

Digitaria iburua
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Panicoideae
Genus:	Digitaria
Species:	D. iburua
Binomial name
Digitaria iburua Stapf

Iburu (D. iburua) is closely related to white fonio (D. exilis), a cereal that is more widely grown across West Africa. However, Iburu is taller than fonio, but has smaller grain than fonio. This makes harvesting the grains very labor-intensive. Iburu is mainly grown in the Middle Belt of central Nigeria, as well as in Zinder, Niger.^[3]

See also

• Digitaria compacta, raishan, used as a grain crop in northeast India
• Digitaria exilis, white fonio, also used as a grain crop in West Africa
• Digitaria longiflora, the wild progenitor of Digitaria exilis
• Digitaria sanguinalis, considered a weed around the world, but traditionally used as a grain crop in Europe