The exact identity and status of these varied plants needs further investigation. P. miliaceum (a "millet") originates from Asia, and several cultivars exist as well as wild types; chromosome numbers range from 2n = 36 to 72 (FNA 25). FNA 25 indicates that more robust plants with disarticulating florets can be distinguished as ssp. ruderale (Kitagawa) Tzvelev, and that this is naturalized in much of North America. The species has been grown for at least a century in Ky. (Gm). Currently much seed is fed to birds or spilled, and some colls. probably come from resultant waifs. Some colls. mapped here have much smaller spikelets than reported in FNA and other manuals: ca. 2.5-3 mm versus 4.5-6 mm.