foxtail millet
- noun
- Specialized
:
mijo cola de zorro
- Farmers often grow foxtail millet because it can thrive in dry conditions.
- maize and foxtail millet
- sorghum and foxtail millet
- foxtail millet and rice
Examples
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The livestock enjoyed the fresh hay made from foxtail millet during the winter months.
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In many Asian countries, foxtail millet is used to make nutritious porridge.
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There are 11,996 syntenic gene clusters across maize, sorghum, foxtail millet, rice, and Brachypodium.
Academic text (2017)
Synonyms
A grass plant that tolerates drought and is grown for small seeds and animal feed
A type of foxtail millet with large hanging seed heads and yellow grains
A grass that grows once a year for its grain and is used as animal feed
How Useful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'foxtail' (a grass with dense, silky flowering spikes) and 'millet' (a small-seeded grain) to denote a millet species characterized by foxtail-like inflorescences. This is a straightforward, compositional plant name, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to a particular type of millet.
Etymology
The name foxtail millet comes from the plant's long, bushy seed head that looks like a fox's tail, and millet is a small 'grain'. So the name simply describes the plant and helps you remember it is a crop grown for food and animal feed.