Shu Mi

Shu Mi is the grain of Setaria italica (Poaceae), foxtail millet, an annual cereal grass 60–150 cm tall originating in northern China where it was domesticated more than seven millennia ago. The culm is erect, simple or sparingly branched, with linear, flat leaf blades 15–50 cm long and 1–3 cm wide. The inflorescence is a dense, cylindrical, often nodding spike-like panicle 10–30 cm long, bristly with sterile branches and bearing numerous small spikelets. Each spikelet produces a single small grain about 2 mm in diameter, hulled to expose a pale yellow, orange or reddish caryopsis. The plant tolerates drought and poor soils.