Publication: Methodus 207. 1794.

Origin: Introduced from Africa

Herbarium search: CPNWH

Notes: FNA25: "Sorghum bicolor was domesticated in Africa 3000 years ago, reached northwestern India before 2500 B.C., and became an important crop in China after the Mongolian conquest. It was introduced to the Western Hemisphere in the early sixteenth century, and is now an important crop in the United States and Mexico. Numerous cultivated strains exist, some of which have been formally named. They are all interfertile with each other and with other wild species of Sorghum.

All the cultivated sorghums are placed in Sorghum bicolor subsp. bicolor. Grain sorghums have short panicles and panicle branches, broomcorns have elongate panicles and panicle branches, and sweet sorghums or sorgho produce an abundance of sweet juice in their stems. For a more detailed treatment, see Harlan and de Wet (1972)."

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Last updated 1/6/2024 by David Giblin.