Sorghum () or broomcorn is a genus of about 28 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Sorghum bicolor is grown as a cereal for human consumption and as animal fodder.
Taxonomy
The Sorghum genus is in the grass family, Poaceae, in the subfamily Panicoideae, in the tribe Andropogoneae – the same as maize (Zea mays), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), and sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). Accepted species recorded include:
Phylogeny
The Sorghum genus is closely related to maize within the PACMAD clade of grasses, and more distantly to the cereals of the BOP clade such as wheat and barley.
Distribution
Seventeen of the 28 species are native to Australia, with the range of some extending to Africa, Asia, Mesoamerica, and certain islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
References
External links
- "Sorghum and millets in human nutrition" FAO Report (1995)