Compilation
Sorghum virgatum

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Name

Identification
Sorghum virgatum (Hack.) Stapf [family POACEAE ] (stored under name); Andropogon sorghum Hack. [family POACEAE ]
Related name
  • Sorghum virgatus
  • Andropogon sorghum
  • Sorghum virgatum
  • Sorghum bicolor
  • Sorghum halepense
Common name
  • daonan δaji karkara (Bartha) (NIGER, HAUSA), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • kara-kara (JMD; C&H) (NIGERIA, KANURI), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • dakwumbey (JMD) ngaiori (Jackson) (NIGERIA, FULA-FULFULDE (Nigeria)), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • wada-kende (FCD) (SIERRA LEONE, MANDING-MANDINKA), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • gaman daé (Froelich idè, idi (sing, n’dé) (Froelich) (TOGO, KONKOMBA), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • taloa (NWT) taŋki (NWT) (SIERRA LEONE, LIMBA), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • ọkà-iye (anon.; Verger) (NIGERIA, YORUBA), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • kεte as in general for guinea corn (NWT; JMD) ngσgbσ-getei = bush guinea corn (FCD) (SIERRA LEONE, MENDE), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • hula murutuna (FCD) kεndo as in general for guinea corn (NWT; JMD) (SIERRA LEONE, KORANKO), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • ịkị́ráị́ the culm (KW; KW&T) ịmbẹbẹlẹ́ (KW; KW&T) (NIGERIA, IJO-IZON (Kolokuma)), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • mil sauvage., Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • tamidi (NWT) (SIERRA LEONE, SUSU), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • omụ́ngẹ́lẹ́ (KW) (NIGERIA, IZON (Oporoma)), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • dááwàr dààmínáá = ’dawa’ of the rainy season (ZOG) dááwàr dòòrínáá = ’dawa’ of the hippopotamus (JMD; ZOG) dááwàr kádàà = ’dawa’ of the crocodile (JMD; ZOG) dááwàr rààfíí = ’dawa’ of the stream (JMD; ZOG) dawarδan kurana (auctt.) firki (Davey; Oche) (NIGERIA, HAUSA), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • buruna-murutu-na (FCD) hula murutu-na (Glanville) muruntu-na (NWT) (SIERRA LEONE, YALUNKA), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • gea kpai (Har.) (LIBERIA, MANO), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • gabaraari (ABM) (NIGER, FULA-FULFULDE (Niger)), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • akpụkpa enyi mirī = corn of the elephant of water, i.e., hippopotamus (auctt.) (NIGERIA, IGBO (Umuahia)), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • Kamerun grass (Dalziel)., Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • ta-gbσyσ as in general for guinea corn (NWT) kẻ-tanbe (NWT) (SIERRA LEONE, TEMNE), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • bàki (FRI) (GHANA, DAGAARI), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2
  • gènjì-hàmà (pl. -à) (D&C) (NIGER, SONGHAI), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2

Flora

Entry for Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf [family POACEAE]
Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 451, (1982) Author: W. D. CLAYTON and S.A. RENVOIZE
Names
Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf [family POACEAE], in F.T.A. 9: 114 (1917); E.A. Pasture Plants 1: 22 (1926); Fl. Agrost. Congo Belge 1: 92 (1929); Ann. list grasses Ug.: 43 (1947); I.G.U. 55 (1960); Clayton in F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 3: 467 (1972). Type: Ghana [Guinea], Isert (B, holo.)
Andropogon arundinaceus Willd. [family POACEAE], Sp. Pl. 4: 906 (1806), non Berg (1767)
Rhaphis arundinacea Desv. [family POACEAE], Opusc: 69 (1831), based on A. arundinaceus Willd.
Andropogon verticilliflorus Steud. [family POACEAE], Syn. Pl. Glum. 1: 393 (1854). Type: Réunion (whereabouts unknown)
Andropogon sorghum Hack. var. effusus [family POACEAE], in DC, Monogr. Phan. 6: 503 (1889). Based on A. arundinaceus Willd.
Andropogon sorghum Hack. var. aethiopicus [family POACEAE], in DC, Monogr. Phan. 6: 504 (1889). Types: Sudan, Arashkol [Arasch-Cool], Kotschy 390 (K, isosyn.!) & Suakin to Berber, Schweinfurth 655.
Andropogon sorghum Hack. var. virgatus [family POACEAE], in DC, Monogr. Phan. 6: 504 (1889). Types: Sudan, Kordofan, Kotschy 173 (K, isosyn.!) and several other syntypes
Sorghum halepense (Hack.) Rendle var. effusum [family POACEAE], Cat. Afr. Pl. Welw. 2: 150 (1899)
Andropogon sorghum Piper subsp. vogelianus [family POACEAE], in Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 28: 34 (1915). Type: Nigeria, Nun R., Vogel 11 (K, holo.!)
Andropogon sorghum (Hack.) Piper subsp. effusus [family POACEAE], in Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 28: 35 (1915)
Andropogon sorghum (Steud.) Piper subsp. verticilliflorus [family POACEAE], in Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 28: 37(1915)
Andropogon sorghum Piper subsp. abyssinicus [family POACEAE], in Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 28: 39 (1915). Type: Sudan, Matamma, Schweinfurth 1521 (B, holo., K, iso.!)
Sorghum virgatum (Hack.) Stapf [family POACEAE], in F.T.A. 9: 111 (1917); Chiov., Fl. Somala 2: 438 (1932); F.P.S. 3: 539(1956)
Sorghum lanceolatum Stapf [family POACEAE], in F.T.A. 9: 112 (1917); F.P.S. 3: 540 (1956); I.G.U.: 55 (1960); Clayton in F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 3: 467 (1972). Types: Nigeria, Katagum, Dalziel 293 & Sudan, Kio, Brown 1473 (both K, syn.!)
Sorghum verticilliflorum (Steud.) Stapf [family POACEAE], in F.T.A. 9: 116 (1917); Ann. list grasses Ug.: 44 (1947);Imp. Grassl. Pl. Kenya: 70 (1951); F.P.N.A. 3: 46 (1955); F.P.S. 3: 540 (1956); R.K.G.: 55 (1958); Ann. list Nyasaland grasses: 60 (1958); I.G.U.: 55 (1960); G.T.: 96 (1965)
Sorghum vogelianum (Piper) Stapf [family POACEAE], in F.T.A. 9: 116 (1917); Clayton in F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 3: 467 (1972)
Sorghum abyssinicum (Piper) Stapf [family POACEAE], in F.T.A. 9: 118 (1917), non 5. abyssinicum (Fresen.) Kuntze (1891)
Sorghum aethiopicum (Hack.) Stapf [family POACEAE], in F.T.A. 9: 119 (1917); F.P.S. 3: 543 (1956); Clayton in F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 3: 467(1972)
Sorghum panicoides Stapf [family POACEAE], in F.T.A. 9: 120 (1917). Type: Ethiopia, Figari (K, holo.!)
Sorghum castaneum Hubbard & Snowden [family POACEAE], in K.B. 1936: 316 (1936); Ann. list grasses Ug.: 44 (1947); I.G.U.: 55 (1960). Type: Uganda, Toro District, Bubandi, A.S. Thomas 714 (K, holo.!)
Sorghum macrochaete Snowden [family POACEAE], Cultivated races of Sorghum: 237 (1936); F.P.S. 3: 543 (1956); G.T.: 96 (1965). Based on Andropogon sorghum (L.) Brot. subsp. abyssinicus Piper
Sorghum aethiopicum Snowden var. brevifolium [family POACEAE], in J.L.S. 55: 224 (1955); R.K.G.: 55 (1958). Type: Sudan, without precise locality, Kotschy 132 (K, holo.!)
Sorghum verticilliflorum Snowden var. ornatum [family POACEAE], in J.L.S. 55: 235 (1955). Types: South Africa, Verleptpram, Drège, 2 specimens without number (both K, syn.!)
Sorghum verticilliflorum Snowden var. infrequens [family POACEAE], in J.L.S. 55: 236 (1955); R.K.G.: 55 (1958). Type: Uganda, Lango District, Aboki [Aukobi], A.S. Thomas 3884 (K, holo.!)
Sorghum somaliense Snowden [family POACEAE], in J.L.S. 55: 238 (1955). Type: Somalia, Adad, McKinnon S/274 (K, holo.!)
Sorghum brevicarinatum Snowden [family POACEAE], in J.L.S. 55: 242 (1955); R.K.G.: 55 (1958); G.T.: 96 (1965). Type: Tanzania, Lushoto District, Muheza [Muhesa] to Amani, Storey 2 (K, holo.!)
Sorghum brevicarinatum Snowden var. swahilorum [family POACEAE], in J.L.S. 55: 245 (1955); R.K.G.: 55 (1958). Type: Tanzania, Tanga District, Tengeni, Greenway 1956 (K, holo.!)
Sorghum usambarense Snowden [family POACEAE], in J.L.S. 55: 245 (1955); G.T.: 96 (1965). Type: Tanzania, Lushoto District, Amani, Eichinger G.5885 (K, holo.!)
Sorghum bicolor (Hack.) de Wet & Huckaby var. aethiopicum [family POACEAE], in Evolution 21: 791 (1967), sine relat. nom.
Sorghum bicolor (Desv.) de Wet & Huckaby var. arundinaceum [family POACEAE], in Evolution 21: 791 (1967), sine relat. nom.
Sorghum bicolor (Steud.) de Wet & Huckaby var. verticilliflorum [family POACEAE], in Evolution 21: 791 (1967), sine relat. nom.
Sorghum bicolor (Hack.) de Wet & Harlan var. virgatum [family POACEAE], in Amer. Journ. Bot. 57: 706 (1970)
Sorghum bicolor (Desv.) de Wet & Harlan subsp. arundinaceum [family POACEAE], in Harlan, de Wet & Stemmler, Origins Afr. Pl. Domestication: 455 (1976), sine relat. nom.
Information
Annual, or short-lived perennial without rhizomes; culms 0.3–4 m. high, often robust, the nodes glabrous or pubescent. Leaf-blades variable, often large, 5–75 cm. long, 5–70 mm. wide. Panicle linear to broadly spreading, 10–60 cm. long; primary branches compound, ultimately bearing racemes of 2–7 spikelet pairs. Sessile spikelet lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 4–9 mm. long, glabrescent to white pubescent, sometimes tomentose or fulvously pubescent, awnless or more often with an awn 5–30 mm. long. Pedicelled spikelet linear to lanceolate, ♂ or barren, smaller than the sessile. Fig. 168.
Range
DISTR. U1–4; K1–7; T1–8; Z throughout Africa, extending eastwards to Australia; introduced to tropical America
Altitude range
0–1800(–2900) m.
Distribution
KENYA Fort Hall District 32 km. NE. of Thika, 12 May 1958, Bogdan 4522!KENYA Kericho District between Ngoina Tea Estate and Ikonge, 15 Dec. 1967, Perdue & Kibuwa 9385!KENYA Tana River District near Garsen, 1 Mar. 1956, Greenway 8962!TANZANIA Masai District Manyara Ranch, 20 Feb. 1965, Leippert 5583!TANZANIA Mbulu District Lake Manyara National Park, Mto wa Mkindu, 29 May 1965, Greenway & Kanuri 12095!TANZANIA Iringa District Msembe, near Ruaha National Park Headquarters, 16 May 1968, Renvoize & Abdallah 2156!TANZANIA Zanzibar I., Mahonda swamp, 15 Aug. 1963, Faulkner 3248!UGANDA Acholi District Kitgum, 12 Nov. 1945, A.S. Thomas 4349!UGANDA Toro District Kikorongo, Dec. 1925, Maitland 1400!UGANDA Ankole District Mbarara, 15 June 1929, Snowden 1374!
Notes
The S. arundinaceum complex has been studied in detail by Snowden (in J.L.S. 55: 191–260 (1955)) who recognized 13 species, but it is now appreciated that these are freely interfertile with one another and with S. bicolor. De Wet, Harlan & Price (in Amer. Journ. Bot. 57: 704–707 (1970)) and Doggett (Sorghum, 1970) point out that there is no cytogenetic justification for recognizing more than one species, though Doggett prefers, as a matter of practical convenience, to retain a separate binomial for the crop plant. S. arundinaceum is extremely variable, a variability undoubtedly enhanced by human selection of grain races, which then introgress with the wild species. Variation is continuous and it is doubtful whether formal infraspecific categories are of much value. De Wet, Harlan & Price (op. cit.) recognize 4 main races centred upon the following ‘species’ in Snowden’s sense:1. S. virgatum. Leaf-blades narrow, 5–15 mm. wide; panicle linear with scanty branches; spikelets lanceolate, 6.5–7 mm.; awn inconspicuous, 8–16 mm. Egypt and Sudan.2. S. aethiopicum. Leaf-blades 5–35 mm. wide; panicle narrow; spikelets narrowly ovate to elliptic, 6–8 mm., tomentose; awn stout, 15–30 mm. Senegal to Ethiopia and N. Kenya.3. S. arundinaceum. Leaf-blades broad, 20–70 mm. wide; panicle spreading with numerous long flexuous branches; spikelets narrowly ovate to elliptic, 6–9 mm.; awn indistinct, 0–10 mm. Mainly W. Africa, introduced to America.4. S. verticilliflorum. Leaf-blades 10–30 mm. wide; panicle suberect or spreading with few stiff branches; spikelets lanceolate to elliptic, 4–8 mm.; awn distinct, 10–25 mm. Mainly E. and S. Africa and Asia.Of these S. virgatum is reasonably distinct, but the others indicate trends rather than separable taxa.

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