Deeper dive on "Polish millet"
I was curious to understand better what the state and usage of Polish millet was anyway, but learning that a variety of this same species (Digitaria sanguinalis) for food in part of India (per my post on "sikiya millet") prompted me to take a deeper dive. First, a German contact from my language/localization days, who also has an interest in food diversity, kindly did a search not long ago for references in German to current cultivation of this grain. All she found was mention of its possible use for mouse food. Historically, there is more to it, however, so with a different research tack (and in English), here are some more items under two headings. POLISH MILLET IN EUROPE First, how was Digitaria sanguinalis a European crop grown, how important was it, and what was it used for? J.C. Loudon's 1825 *An Encyclopedia of Gardening* (London : Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green) offers a couple of helpful perspectives: "The common millet is grown on the [European] continent as a garden-plant for its seeds, to be used as a substitute for rice : the Polish millet (Digitaria sanguinalis) is grown for this purpose in the cottage gardens in Poland ; as is the carnation poppy (Papaver somniferum], for its seeds, which form a seasoning to buck-wheat porridge." p. 684 https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofg00loudrich/page/684/mode/1up [NB- "common millet" in this context is probably proso millet, Psnicum miliaceum] "In some places [in Poland], the common carnation poppy is grown for the seed, which taken when beginning to ripen, and strewed on a sort of milk-porridge, or milk-paste, made from the meal of buck-wheat, or Polish millet (Dactylon sanguinale), is reckoned a delicacy." p. 63 https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofg00loudrich/page/63/mode/1up [NB- the species name is a synonym for Digitaria sanguinalis, per Kew.org] Looking further back in history, L.J. Reitsema et al's 2017 "Resilience and local dietary adaptation in rural Poland, 1000–1400 CE" (Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 45: 38-52) adds some context: "A less-often mentioned C4 plant in medieval Polish diet is Digitarium sanguinalis, known today as Polish millet or crabgrass, and known in historic times as 'sown manna.' Its seeds are small and harvested by hand, thus sown manna was more likely an elite food than a daily staple, and likely contributed few calories to diet, unlike millet." p. 41 https://anthropology.uga.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/Reitsema%20et%... [NB- Digitarium should be Digitaria. Also, I was surprised not to find clarification of the species of "millet" mentioned in the article, again most likely Panicum miliaceum] So, Polish millet may not have been a field crop so much as one grown on smaller scales. (The idea of growing cereal grains in a garden setting is not so unusual - there are people who do that with certain varieties of wheat in the US, for example.) And this grain figures as a source of variety in diet, rather than as a main staple. Still lots of questions, but this fills out the picture somewhat. POLISH MILLET / CRABGRASS IN NORTH AMERICA How was this species used when first brought to North America? I'm still looking for a good source on that, but in the meantime, Wikipedia tells us that "The plant was brought to the United States by immigrants to serve as hand-foraged grain." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitaria_sanguinalis The earliest reference in the US to "Polish millet" that I see (via Newspapers.com) is from the New England Farmer (Boston, MA), 14 March 1857, p. 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/404591118/: "'Of the Millet there are three distinct genera. Tho Polish millet, cultivated in Poland, the common millet cultivated in Germany, and in England and United States, and the great or Indian millet, cultivated in India, Italy, and now in America.' The Egyptian millet which you spoke of we think must be the great or Indian millet. We have it dried and hung up in our seed-room, as also the common millet. The latter is a frequent crop in this State. It is excellent both as a green fodder, or to be cured for hay." NB- This is a pretty prominent mention for Polish millet, such as it is. The "great or Indian millet" may be sorghum. "Egyptian millet" may be pearl millet?? Regarding "common millet," this is a term I avoid, because its application varies, but I suspect that here, as generally in the US during the 19th century, it referred to foxtail millet, Setaria italica, of which a variety from Germany (sometimes called German millet) being apparently common. The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) had a 2 part series on millets in 1877. It confirms some of my hunches concerning nomenclature above. The second part (13 Sep. 1877, p. 2 https://www.newspapers.com/image/27309529/ ) has this about Polish millet: "Polish millet. The manna grass of the Germans, [D]igitaria sanguinalis of some botanists, has already been noticed in a former paper under the name Panicum sanguinale. It is sometimes cultivated in Poland, whence its trivial name, for the grain as a substitute for rice. etc. It seems to thrive there under cultivation, almost as well as with us, in spite of our attempts to exterminate it." The latter remark indicates a perception of the plant that was at least ambiguous. Later reporting on the species refers to it more often as crabgrass, and as a weed problem on farms, and how to deal with it. Searching on "crabgrass" and "Digitaria" I found a reference earlier than all the above to using this species for hay in the SE US: The Newbernian (New Bern, NC), 16 Aug. 1833, p. 3 https://www.newspapers.com/image/53995071/ . Forty years later in the same state, a longish article on crabgrass acknowledged that it was a "public enemy," but made the contrarian case for promoting it as a forage crop given its tenacity and ability to grow on poor soils. Scotchman and Observer, 29 July 1873, p. 2 https://www.newspapers.com/image/73230269/ (If you dig deeper on the subject, there are discussions elsewhere of when and how to best mow this species for hay, and how to dry it - people have put some time into it.) As for crabgrass as a weed on lawns, the earliest mention I saw in my rapid searches was in 1889 (the same article in several papers). These references got more frequent by the 1920s or so. That brings us to a context more widely familiar to many people today. I'd conclude with the usual call for more research, but do think that this relative of fonio deserves more attention. How do varieties cultivated in central Europe (if we still have them) and India compare with each other, and with the weedy varieties that we try to get rid of? Are the grains of this obscure millet really a "manna" in terms of taste? How hard would it be to breed varieties that produce seed in a shorter time window, making production for grain more feasible? Could the lessons from processing fonio be directly applied to this Polish millet? Is crabgrass actually a potential temperate-zone fonio, both as a resilient crop and as a nutritious food? Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance
Here are a couple of quick items to add concerning crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis): I should have looked at whether anyone is currently using or talking about the grains. I did find one reference to edible crabgrass seeds on a page that has some interesting perspectives and comments, along with some misinformation (fonio is not:"crabgrass" in the sense we use the term, altho I did once hear an American development worker refer to it with that name). Note also some of the comments indicating interest in edible parts of the plant. * "Crabgrass Was King: Forage, Grain, Flour, Manna, Pest," Eat the Weeds https://www.eattheweeds.com/crabgrass-digitaria-sanguinalis-2/ I mentioned in the previous posting in this thread that crabgrass was used as a forage. Well, one can get seed and here's a webpage with current info on the Red River variety for forage, and details on planting and management (by an Oklahoma State Extension agronomist). It ends by noting that "Crabgrass has been building momentum in the last couple of years,..." * "Crabgrass: A Weed Can Be a Forage," by Mike Trammell, Drovers, 2 April 2024 https://www.drovers.com/news/beef-production/crabgrass-weed-can-be-forage DO, EL, MI, US NAMA On Sat, Aug 31, 2024 at 2:43 PM Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> wrote:
I was curious to understand better what the state and usage of Polish millet was anyway, but learning that a variety of this same species (Digitaria sanguinalis) for food in part of India (per my post on "sikiya millet") prompted me to take a deeper dive.
First, a German contact from my language/localization days, who also has an interest in food diversity, kindly did a search not long ago for references in German to current cultivation of this grain. All she found was mention of its possible use for mouse food.
Historically, there is more to it, however, so with a different research tack (and in English), here are some more items under two headings.
POLISH MILLET IN EUROPE
First, how was Digitaria sanguinalis a European crop grown, how important was it, and what was it used for? J.C. Loudon's 1825 *An Encyclopedia of Gardening* (London : Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green) offers a couple of helpful perspectives:
"The common millet is grown on the [European] continent as a garden-plant for its seeds, to be used as a substitute for rice : the Polish millet (Digitaria sanguinalis) is grown for this purpose in the cottage gardens in Poland ; as is the carnation poppy (Papaver somniferum], for its seeds, which form a seasoning to buck-wheat porridge." p. 684 https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofg00loudrich/page/684/mode/1up [NB- "common millet" in this context is probably proso millet, Psnicum miliaceum]
"In some places [in Poland], the common carnation poppy is grown for the seed, which taken when beginning to ripen, and strewed on a sort of milk-porridge, or milk-paste, made from the meal of buck-wheat, or Polish millet (Dactylon sanguinale), is reckoned a delicacy." p. 63 https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofg00loudrich/page/63/mode/1up [NB- the species name is a synonym for Digitaria sanguinalis, per Kew.org]
Looking further back in history, L.J. Reitsema et al's 2017 "Resilience and local dietary adaptation in rural Poland, 1000–1400 CE" (Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 45: 38-52) adds some context: "A less-often mentioned C4 plant in medieval Polish diet is Digitarium sanguinalis, known today as Polish millet or crabgrass, and known in historic times as 'sown manna.' Its seeds are small and harvested by hand, thus sown manna was more likely an elite food than a daily staple, and likely contributed few calories to diet, unlike millet." p. 41 https://anthropology.uga.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/Reitsema%20et%... [NB- Digitarium should be Digitaria. Also, I was surprised not to find clarification of the species of "millet" mentioned in the article, again most likely Panicum miliaceum]
So, Polish millet may not have been a field crop so much as one grown on smaller scales. (The idea of growing cereal grains in a garden setting is not so unusual - there are people who do that with certain varieties of wheat in the US, for example.) And this grain figures as a source of variety in diet, rather than as a main staple. Still lots of questions, but this fills out the picture somewhat.
POLISH MILLET / CRABGRASS IN NORTH AMERICA
How was this species used when first brought to North America? I'm still looking for a good source on that, but in the meantime, Wikipedia tells us that "The plant was brought to the United States by immigrants to serve as hand-foraged grain." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitaria_sanguinalis
The earliest reference in the US to "Polish millet" that I see (via Newspapers.com) is from the New England Farmer (Boston, MA), 14 March 1857, p. 1 https://www.newspapers.com/image/404591118/: "'Of the Millet there are three distinct genera. Tho Polish millet, cultivated in Poland, the common millet cultivated in Germany, and in England and United States, and the great or Indian millet, cultivated in India, Italy, and now in America.' The Egyptian millet which you spoke of we think must be the great or Indian millet. We have it dried and hung up in our seed-room, as also the common millet. The latter is a frequent crop in this State. It is excellent both as a green fodder, or to be cured for hay."
NB- This is a pretty prominent mention for Polish millet, such as it is. The "great or Indian millet" may be sorghum. "Egyptian millet" may be pearl millet?? Regarding "common millet," this is a term I avoid, because its application varies, but I suspect that here, as generally in the US during the 19th century, it referred to foxtail millet, Setaria italica, of which a variety from Germany (sometimes called German millet) being apparently common.
The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) had a 2 part series on millets in 1877. It confirms some of my hunches concerning nomenclature above. The second part (13 Sep. 1877, p. 2 https://www.newspapers.com/image/27309529/ ) has this about Polish millet: "Polish millet. The manna grass of the Germans, [D]igitaria sanguinalis of some botanists, has already been noticed in a former paper under the name Panicum sanguinale. It is sometimes cultivated in Poland, whence its trivial name, for the grain as a substitute for rice. etc. It seems to thrive there under cultivation, almost as well as with us, in spite of our attempts to exterminate it."
The latter remark indicates a perception of the plant that was at least ambiguous. Later reporting on the species refers to it more often as crabgrass, and as a weed problem on farms, and how to deal with it.
Searching on "crabgrass" and "Digitaria" I found a reference earlier than all the above to using this species for hay in the SE US: The Newbernian (New Bern, NC), 16 Aug. 1833, p. 3 https://www.newspapers.com/image/53995071/ .
Forty years later in the same state, a longish article on crabgrass acknowledged that it was a "public enemy," but made the contrarian case for promoting it as a forage crop given its tenacity and ability to grow on poor soils. Scotchman and Observer, 29 July 1873, p. 2 https://www.newspapers.com/image/73230269/ (If you dig deeper on the subject, there are discussions elsewhere of when and how to best mow this species for hay, and how to dry it - people have put some time into it.)
As for crabgrass as a weed on lawns, the earliest mention I saw in my rapid searches was in 1889 (the same article in several papers). These references got more frequent by the 1920s or so. That brings us to a context more widely familiar to many people today.
I'd conclude with the usual call for more research, but do think that this relative of fonio deserves more attention. How do varieties cultivated in central Europe (if we still have them) and India compare with each other, and with the weedy varieties that we try to get rid of? Are the grains of this obscure millet really a "manna" in terms of taste? How hard would it be to breed varieties that produce seed in a shorter time window, making production for grain more feasible? Could the lessons from processing fonio be directly applied to this Polish millet? Is crabgrass actually a potential temperate-zone fonio, both as a resilient crop and as a nutritious food?
Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance
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