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Sorghum Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of
grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants,
either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide.
Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents in addition to the
southwest Pacific and Australasia. Sorghum is in the subfamily Panicoideae and the tribe
of Andropogoneae . Cultivation and uses
One species, Sorghum bicolor, is an important world crop, used for food (as grain and in
sorghum syrup or "sorghum molasses"), fodder, the production of alcoholic beverages, and
biofuels. Most varieties are drought- and heat-tolerant, and are especially important
in arid regions, where the grain is one of the staples for poor and rural people. These
varieties form important components of pastures in many tropical regions. Sorghum bicolor
is an important food crop in Africa, Central America, and South Asia and is the "fifth
most important cereal crop grown in the world". Some species of sorghum can contain levels
of hydrogen cyanide, hordenine and nitrates lethal to grazing animals in the early stages
of the plant's growth. When stressed by drought or heat, plants can also contain toxic levels
of cyanide and/or nitrates at later stages in growth.
Another Sorghum species, Johnson grass (S. halapense), is classified as an invasive species
in the US by the Department of Agriculture. Sorghum vulgare var. technicum is commonly
called broomcorn. Species
Sorghum almum Sorghum amplum
Sorghum angustum Sorghum arundinaceum
Sorghum bicolor — cultivated sorghum, often individually called sorghum. Also known as
durra, jowari or milo.
Sorghum bicolor subsp. drummondii — Sudan grass
Sorghum bicolor subsp. drummondii — Sudan grass
Sorghum brachypodum Sorghum bulbosum
Sorghum burmahicum Sorghum ecarinatum
Sorghum exstans Sorghum grande
Sorghum halepense — Johnson grass Sorghum interjectum
Sorghum intrans Sorghum laxiflorum
Sorghum leiocladum Sorghum macrospermum
Sorghum matarankense Sorghum nitidum
Sorghum plumosum Sorghum propinquum
Sorghum purpureosericeum Sorghum stipoideum
Sorghum timorense Sorghum trichocladum
Sorghum versicolor Sorghum verticiliflorum
Sorghum vulgare var. technicum — broomcorn Hybrids
Sorghum × almum Sorghum × drummondii
Sorghum genome In 2009, a team of international researchers
announced they had sequenced the sorghum genome.