Grains are the edible seed of a plants in the grass family
Poaceae. Grains come in two varieties: the larger grains produced by drought-sensitive crops are called
cereals and the smaller
drought-resistant varieties are
millets. Grains can be consumed in a variety of ways, all of which require
husking and cooking, including
whole, rolled,
puffed, or
ground into
flour. Many cereals are present or past
staple foods, providing a large fraction of the calories in the places in which they are eaten. Today, cereals provide almost half of all calories consumed in the world. Other grasses with edible seeds include: •
Astrebla pectinata – barley Mitchell grass •
Brachiaria piligera – wattle signalgrass •
Eragrostis eriopoda – woollybutt grass •
Panicum species, such as
native millet (
Panicum decompositum) and
hairy panic (
P. effusum) •
Themeda triandra – kangaroo grass •
Yakirra australiensis – bunch panic
Pseudocereals A
pseudocereal, or pseudocereal grain, is the edible seed of a pseudocereal, one of a polyphyletic group of plants that produce seeds that resemble those of cereals. Pseudocereals are used in many of the same ways as cereals. == Legumes ==