Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench Sorghum Syn. Sorghum vulgare Pers.

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Taxonomic classification
Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Liliopsida

Order: Poales

Family: Poaceae

Species: S.bicolor


S. bicolor is a vigorous, annual grass with a single stem, reaching about 0.5-6m in height. Tillers are produced in some cultivars.


Morphological characters

Stem:The plant has a solid stem, which is usually erect. The axillary buds at lower nodes may produce tillers and higher nodes may produce branches.

Root: Adventitious fibrous roots are produced from the lowest node of the stem. The stem has a band of root primordia. The root primordia that locate near the base of the plant grow out to produce prop roots.

Leaves: Leaves are erect at first and later curving. The leaf arrangement is alternate in two ranks. The leaf sheath has overlapping margins that encircle the stem. Short white hairs are present near attachment to node. The Ligule is short and about 2mm long. Auricles are triangular or lanceolate. The leaf lamina is lanceolate and glabrous. The leaf margin is flat or wavy and the midrib is prominent.

Flowers: The plant has a densely-packed, conical- or oval-shaped inflorescence. The central rachis may be long or short, with primary, secondary or tertiary branches; each branch bears racemes of spikelets. The spikelets are in pairs; one is sessile and hermaphrodite, while the other is pedicelled and male or sterile. The terminal spikelets of a raceme are borne in threes, with a sessile fertile spikelet and two pedicelled spikelets. The sessile fertile spikelet has two qual-sized glumes and contains two florets. The upper floret is hermaphrodite and has three stamens, a round ovary and two long style each ending in a feathery stigma. The lower sterile floret consists only of lemma. Pedicelled spikelet is narrower, smaller and more pointed than the sessile spikelet. The pedicel is long or short. The spikelet has two florets; the upper floret is fertile with three stamens and the lower floret is sterile.

Fruit: The fruit is a caryopsis, which is round and bluntly pointed. The colour, shape and size of the fruit vary with the cultivar.

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