Japanese millet (Japanese millet)

Japanese: ヒエ(稗∥穇) - ヒエ（英語表記）Japanese millet

An annual grass of the grass family (illustration) cultivated for its grains for food and feed, and its stems and leaves for feed. The leaves of the young plant are similar to those of rice, but as it grows it produces coarser leaves, with the larger leaves measuring 70 cm in length and 3.8 cm in width. In summer, ears form at the ends of the stems, and the plant grows to a height of 0.8 to 2 m. The ears are 10 to 30 cm long, with 20 to 30 short branches (primary rachises), which further branch out and produce numerous spikelets about 3 mm long. A single ear can produce several thousand grains. There are three types of ear shape: dense, diffuse, and intermediate.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

子実を食用や飼料に，茎葉を飼料にするために栽培されるイネ科の一年草（イラスト）。幼植物体の葉はイネに似るが，成長するとイネより粗大な葉を生じ，大きな葉は葉身の長さ70cm，幅3.8cmほどとなる。夏に，茎の先に穂をつけ，草丈0.8～2mとなる。穂は長さ10～30cm，あまり長くない枝(一次枝梗)を20～30本出し，さらに枝分れして，長さ3mmほどの小穂を多数つける。1穂で実る子実は数千粒である。穂の形には，密穂型，開散穂型，中間型の3型がある。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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