this is a specimen of Digitaria Sanguinalis I uprooted almost one month ago. I've spent countless hours trying to eradicate this species and setaria viridis from my plots and this particular one was looking dried beyond any hope of recovery.
All it took was a day of rain, then the resurrection strategy of digitaria kicked in: high speed total regeneration at each node!
Wherever a node was touching the ground it developed roots too.
This goes beyond amazing, this plant really has been forged under the unforgiving anvil of survival!!
I felt the urge to look it up over pfaf.org and find more.
To my surprise I found it is still cultivated in eastern europe for human consumption and produces large amounts of grain for a wild species. Moreover, the flour made from its seeds is white, nutritious and keeps very well.
As for its drought resistance and ability to survive the worsts conditions while still reliably delivering grain, the picture above says it all.
I decided it was time to gather some seed, first of all let's say they taste good even uncooked.
It seems collecting grain from this grass is pretty simple, this is what I got within 2 minutes of picking the best plants:
Of course I plan to pick much more and sow a nice big plot for next year.
I absolutely need to evaluate the yield from this grass since it can be a fine source of gluten, useful for making bread and cakes.
It has disproportionately large roots which allow it to compete against other grasses faster and more efficiently, it is a C4 plant and is allelopathic.
Its ability to self sow through the winter and resist drought is fundamental, that's why I'm interested in it even if it's an annual!
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