Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 451, (1982) Author: W. D. CLAYTON and S.A. RENVOIZE
Names
Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench [family POACEAE], Meth.: 207 (1794)
Holcus bicolor L. [family POACEAE], Mant. Pl. Alt: 301 (1771);
Holcus saccharatus L. [family POACEAE], Sp. Pl.: 1047 (1753), nom. confus .;
Sorghum vulgare Pers. [family POACEAE], Syn. PL: 101 (1805), nom. superfl.
Notes
is an important tropical cereal. It was probably first domesticated in the Sudan zone over 3000 years ago, spreading thence throughout tropical Africa, and eventually into east Asia; it has been introduced into America in recent times. Its taxonomy has been studied in detail by Snowden (The cultivated races of Sorghum (1936)), who recognised 28 species, but it is now generally agreed that these are best regarded as cultivars, which Harlan and de Wet (in Crop Science 12: 172–176 (1972)) have grouped into five basic races. Current views on the origin and classification of the cultivated races and their wild allies have been summarized by De Wet (in Amer. Journ. Bot. 65: 477–484 (1978)).
