Sorghum (genus)
| Sorghum | ||||||||||||
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 Sorghum plant | ||||||||||||
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| Species | ||||||||||||
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Sorghum × almum | ||||||||||||
| References | ||||||||||||
| ITIS 42106 2002-09-22 |
Sorghum (Sorghum vulgare or Sorghum bicolor) is a grass (Family Poaceae), whose seeds are used to make a flour and as cattle feed. It is an important food crop in Africa, Central America, and southern Asia and is the fifth major cereal crop grown in the world (47 million hectares harvested in 1996). The largest producer is the USA.
It originated in eastern Africa and first diverged from the wild varieties in Ethiopia 5000 years ago. It is well adapted to growth in hot arid or semi-arid areas. The many subspecies are divided into four groups - grain sorghums, grass sorghums (for pasture and hay), sweet sorghums (produce sorghum syrups), and broom corn (for brooms and brushes).