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SORGHUM Moench. Sorghum
Plants hermaphroditic, caespitose or rhizomatous or stoloniferous, annual or perennial. Culm erect or ascending
or geniculate or decumbent; internodes usually solid, glabrous, terete; nodes glabrous or hairy. Leaves basal
and cauline, not distinctly distichous; sheaths terete, margin open; auricles absent; ligules membranous or a
ciliate membrane; blades flat, linear to lanceolate, lax, apex acuminate. Panicles open or contracted,
terminal or axillary, sheaths subtending inflorescence not inflated or spathe-like; primary branches
rebranched, whorled, spreading or ascending; branches glabrous; pedicels not with a longitudinal groove, hairs
ascending on margins, flattened. Spikelets paired at each inflorescence node (ternate at branch apex),
dissimilar in size and shape, disarticulation below the glumes, dorsiventrally compressed, sessile spikelets
fertile, pedicellate spikelets staminate or sterile. Pedicellate spikelets staminate or sterile or reduced,
awnless. Sessile spikelets perfect; first glumes weakly 2-keeled, gland-like depressions or pits not
present; abaxial surface flat or convex, smooth, indurate, hairy, awned or awnless; second glumes
length equal to first glumes; lower florets staminate or sterile, hyaline, entire, awnless; paleas absent;
upper florets perfects; lemmas hyaline, apex bifid, awned (awns deciduous) or awnless; paleas
present or absent; hyaline when present. Stamens 3; anthers yellow to golden yellow. Caryopses dorsiventrally
compressed. Base chromosome number x=10.
A genus of about 30 species. Several species are important as livestock forage or grain and some are
disturbance species. Sorghum may produce prussic arid as a poison to domestic livestock. This will likely occur
during times of plant stress like drought.
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