About Echinochloa colonum (L.) Link
Echinochloa colonum (L.) Link, also commonly spelled Echinochloa colona, is known by the common names jungle rice, wild rice, deccan grass, jharua, and awnless barnyard grass. This wild grass originates from tropical Asia, and was formerly classified as a species in the Panicum genus. It is the wild ancestor of the cultivated cereal crop Echinochloa frumentacea, or sawa millet. Some taxonomists classify these two taxa as a single species, under which domesticated forms may also be called E. colona. This grass grows across tropical Asia and Africa, found in fields, along roadsides, and beside waterways. It is considered an invasive weed in the Americas and Australia. In Australia, it has spread into wetlands and threatens the habitat of swamp tea trees. In India, seeds of this grass are used to make a food dish called khichdi, and are eaten during festival fasting days. It has different regional names across India: in Gujarati it is called "Samo" (સામો) or "Moriyo" (મોરિયો), in Marathi it is called bhagar (भगर) or "Vari cha Tandul" (वरी चा तांदुळ), and in Hindi it is called "Mordhan" (मोरधन), "Sava ka chawal" (सवा का चावल), or samay ke chawal. The 1889 book *The Useful Native Plants of Australia* records that under the earlier scientific name Panicum colonum, this plant was called "Shama Millet" in India, and also referred to as "Wild Rice" or "Jungle Rice" in parts of India. The book notes that this plant "has erect stems from two to eight feet high, and very succulent. The panicles are used by the aboriginals [sic.] as an article of food. The seeds are pounded between stones, mixed with water, and formed into a kind of bread. It is not endemic to Australia."
