Grasses - Grains & Seeds
Magnolias
History & General Information
Grasses are a recently evolved family of flowering plants. There were no grasses in the days of the dinosaurs, only herbs, ferns, cycads, rushes and conifers - and the ever increasing offspring of a primitive magnolia, ancestor of all flowering plants. Grass like plants first appeared about 65 million years ago, right at the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Grasses now cover vast areas of the world. In some areas not because they drive out other plants but because they are beneficial to man. The Great Plains of the U.S., were artifically created by the Native Americans by burning forests so the buffalo whould have plenty grass for forage. The burning is no longer done except in parts of Canada, so where the plains are not farmed they are slowly reverting to forest.
Grasses range in size from far smaller than lawn grass to giant timber bamboo which can reach around 100 feet tall. A few grasses developed concentrated seed heads with a heavy yield of medium to large seeds which made them efficiently harvestable for human and animal food. Humans further developed these by selective breeding to create modern grains. The most important characteristic developed is that the seed heads do not "shatter", but stay together until all seeds are fully mature so they can be efficiently harvested. The largest seed heads belong to a grass called corn in the U.S. and maize most other places.
All grasses are built much the same, They belong to the Lily (Liliopsida) branch of the Magnoliophyta which means they are monocots. Their seeds sprout only one first leaf and their adult leaves are long and slender with parallel veins. Specific to grasses are hollow stems plugged at intervals called "nodes" (think "bamboo") and dense clusters of flowers that form seed heads. Grasses propagate not only from seed but from runners, sometimes very aggressive runners, that sprout new plants around the parent.
Other than their seeds, few grasses are used for human consumption because the foliage is generally tough, fiberous, not particularly flavorful and often highly toxic. Cows, sheep, horses and goats live happily on grasses by chewing them up and running them through multiple stomachs where bacteria digest the grasses and the animal absorbs nutrients manufactured by the bacteria.
Certain grains can be sprouted from seed, then eaten or squeezed into juice before they become too tough and toxic. Some health enthusiasts ascribe miraculous properties to these sprouts. Of course sprouts do have miraculous properties - sprouts of wheat and barley are critical to the making of beer, one of the earliest of man's community endevours and possibly the original purpose of farming.
Varieties
With significant lysine content, Amaranth has a much more complete protien content than grains and was planted along with corn by Central American natives to compensate for the incomplete protien mix of corn. Containing no gluten it is safe for people with gluten alergies, but that means it can't be made into leavened bread, only flat breads.
Amaranth was a staple in the diet of the Aztecs - so much so that it was entwined deeply into their religious ceremonies and was banned by the Spanish conquorers intent on Christianizing the peoples they had just robbed and enslaved.
Because of its excellent protien content and ability to grow well where grains don't grow well, amaranth is making a comeback worldwide.
Quinoa
Quinoa, (pronounced keen-wah) like Amaranth
is not a grain but the seed of a chenepodium herb related to spinach. It is
somewhat larger than amaranth and has a unique cooked texture because the
germ curles into a crunchy tail on each grain. Quinoa varies from brown to
nearly white, The white is larger and considered the best for eating.
Like amaranth, quinoa was a staple for the pre-columbian population, but in Peru, while amaranth was used farther north. It also shares nutritional properties with amaranth, particularly its nearly complete protien compliment which includes lysine, missing from grains.
Rice -
Wheat - the seed of an annual dry land grass, is, along with rice, one of the two most important food grain crops in the world. It is the most importnat grain in temperate climates and in all areas not wet enough for growing rice.
In recognition of its importance and the number of products that are made from it, we have given wheat it's own page.
Sorghum - [Milo, Broom Straw,
Durra, Egyptian Millet, Feterita, Guinea Corn, Jowar, Juwar, Kaffir Corn,
Shalluo, Sudan Grass, Sorghum bicolor]
Sorghum is a major crop in areas too dry to sustain other grains,
particularly India and Africa, There is evidence (disputed) of sorghum
cultivation in India, Oman and Yemen 3700 years ago or more. Modern cultivars
appear to have been developed in East Africa about 2000 years ago but exactly
where has not been determined.
The U.S. is the largest producer (mainly for animal feed and ethanol production) but it is also a mojor crop in India, Nigeria, Mexico and other countries with dry areas. Sorghum flour is used to make a bread called Bhakri in Maharashtra and Karnataka provences of India.
In some areas sorghum replaces barley for production of beer, including by major names with breweries in areas barley doesn't grow well, and is also used for production of "gluten free" beer consumable by coeliac sufferers. In China sorghum is used for production of distilled alcoholic drinks.
In the American South sorghum syrup made from a cultivar called "sweet sorghum" has long been used for pouring over pancakes as maple syrup is used in the north, though that usage is declining.
Sorghum is also the source of "broom corn", the straw from which brooms are made, and is used to make composition board for construction.