Niger Seed (Guizotia abyssinica)

Family: Asteraceae or Compositae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

Guizotia abyssinica is a ANNUAL growing to 1.8 m (6ft). It is in leaf from May to October, in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet cakes. — The seed is eaten fried, used as a condiment or dried then ground into a powder and mixed with flour etc to make sweet cakes.; Average seed yields in India range from 100 - 200 kg/ha when grown with ragi, and 300 - 400 kg/ha when grown in pure stands.; In Kenya, monocultural yields average 600 kg/ha.; Seed yields of 1,000 to 1,200 kg/ha have been obtained on fertile Himalayan soils.

Habitat & North American Range

Casual on tips and waste ground near oil mills, and as a bird-seed alien, in Britain. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)