Sorghum
(said to be from Sorghi, the Indian name). Millet Grass. SYN. Blumenbachia (of Koeler). ORD. Gramineae. A genus consisting, according to the authors of the "Genera Plantarum," of only a couple of species of half-hardy or greenhouse, annual or perennial grasses, inhabiting the warmer parts of the globe, and more or less extending into temperate regions, one being nearly cosmopolitan. Spikelets numerous, ternate, the central one sessile, the lateral ones pedicellate; panicle terminal, ample, dense or effuse. Leaves flat, often long and broad. S. vulgare (Indian Millet) has been tried in England as a general crop, but the climate has been found too cold and damp for the proper ripening of its seeds; the plant is frequently grown in botanic gardens, but has no interest from a horticultural point of view. It is extensively cultivated as an article of food in warmer countries. S. halepense is a handsome, hardy species, thriving in ordinary garden soil. Increased by seeds, or by divisions.
S. halepense (Aleppan). fl. purplish; panicle 3in. to 12in. or more long, loose and often much branched. l. long and flat, often rather broad, the midrib usually white and prominent. Stems erect, 2ft. to 10ft. high, the nodes glabrous., Mediterranean region, &c.