Sorghum laxiflorum

• Interesting Facts
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Description

Genus Sorghum

Perennial or annual , with or without rhizomes. Culms usually robust , erect . Leaf blades linear to linear-lanceolate; ligule a ciliate membrane . Inflorescence a large terminal panicle with elongate central axis; primary branches simple or branched, bearing short dense racemes of paired spikelets ; racemes fragile (tough in cultivated species) ; rachis internodes and pedicels slender, ciliate. Sessile spikelet dorsally compressed ; callus obtuse , bearded , inserted into internode apex; lower glume usually leathery, shallowly convex , rounded on flanks, becoming 2-keeled and winged upward, usually hairy , apex membranous; upper glume boat-shaped, keeled upward; lower floret reduced to an empty hyaline lemma; upper lemma 2-toothed, awned from sinus or infrequently awnless; awn bigeniculate, glabrous . Lodicules ciliate. Pedicelled spikelet well developed or reduced to a glume, usually much narrower than sessile spikelet, awnless.

About 30 species: tropics and subtropics of the Old World, one species endemic to Mexico, otherwise introduced in America; five species (three introduced) in China.

The genus includes species of agricultural importance, including the tropical cereal sorghum, and several species grown for forage .[1]

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Vacoparis Laxiflorum

Similar Species

Members of the genus Sorghum

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 26 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

S. almum (Almum Sorghum) · S. andropogon (Sorghum) · S. bicolor bicolor (Black Amber) · S. bicolor drummondii (Black Amber) · S. bicolor 'Bsk12' (Great Millet 'bsk12') · S. bicolor 'Colored Uprights' (Shattercane) · S. bicolor 'Mennonite' (Sorghum) · S. bicolor 'Red's Red Sweet' (Sorghum) · S. bicolor 'Rls0504' (Great Millet 'rls0504') · S. bicolor 'Rls0701' (Great Millet 'rls0701') · S. bicolor 'Texas Black' (Shattercane) · S. bicolor 'White African' (Shattercane) · S. bicolor 'White Broom Corn' (White Broom Corn) · S. caudatum (West African Grain Sorghum) · S. drummondii (Sudangrass) · S. halapense (Aleppo Milletgrass) · S. halepense (Aleppo Milletgrass) · S. halepensis (Aleppo Milletgrass) · S. nigricans (Beer Sorghum) · S. nigrum (Black Millet) · S. propinquum (Sorghum) · S. roxburghii (Popping Sorghum) · S. sorghum (Sorghum) · S. x almum (Perennial Sorghum) · S. x drummondii (Sudangrass) · S. 'White Popping' (Sorghum)

More Info

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Further Reading

• An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, Manila, Bureau of Printing, 1922-26. url p. 43.
• The Queensland flora: Queensland, Printed by H. J. Diddams & co., 1899-1902. url .

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed March 27, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 06, 2007:

• Australian National Herbarium
• , Australian National Herbarium
• National Herbarium of New South Wales, NSW herbarium collection
• National Herbarium of New South Wales, Plants of Papua New Guinea

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5855866
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15775480
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:68453-3
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2120965

Footnotes

1. Shou-liang Chen & Sylvia M. Phillips "Sorghum". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 334, 572, 600. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.