139. GRAMINEM. [70. Sorghum. 



I. Cultivated. Annual. Panicle usually dense. Rhachis of 



spikes tenacious 2. vidgare. 



U. Wild species. Perennial, Panicle usually lax. Rhacliis of 

 spikes fragile : — 



A. Spikes 3-4-noded. Spkts. green or red 1. halapense. 



13. Spikes 2-8-noded:— 



Spkts. black, callus hairs deep brown . . .3. nitidum. 

 Spkts. white, callus haii'S white 4. fascicularia . 



1. S. halapense, Pers. Syn. Andropogon halapensis, Brot. 



A stout grass with a long creeping stoloniferous rootstock, which 

 has appressed hairy sheaths at its nodes. Culms 2-3 ft. high only or 

 attaining 8 ft. and '25" diam. sometimes decumbent at the base with 

 numerous adventitious roots, nodes finely silky-pubescent. Leaves 

 broadly linear setaceously acuminate, rarely \" Avide (in our area), 

 somewhat tapering to the broad rounded sub-amplexicaul base, 

 junction of sheath and blade often pubescent or villous externally and 

 densely silky or villous inside above the ligule, otherwise glabrous, 

 margins setulose broad, about 6-8-nerved betAveen margin and midrib, 

 sheaths rather loose glabrous except at the nodes, ligule -08" erose 

 strigosely hairy behind. Panicle 5-10" long with sub-erect or diffuse 

 branches which are angled and often scabrellous on one of the angles 

 upwards, 1-3-nate, distant, villous at their axils with alternate 

 branches and spikes in their upper half or more. Spikes sometimes 

 branched with a branch taking the place of the pedicelled spkt., 

 3-4-noded, joints longer than the pedicels, compressed, margined, 

 villous ending in a minute cup, easily disarticulate and the ripe sessile 

 spikelet falling (as in most Andropogonese) with the joint of the rhachis 

 and the pedicelled spikelet. Sess. spkt. elliptic or narrowly elliptic, 

 acute, •18--22" long, callus hairs short spreading. Gl. i dorsally 

 flattened, silkily villous or centre glabrescent, keels pectinately hispid 

 in upper third, about 11-nerved altogether or 7-nerved between the 

 keels, margins incurved or inflexed. 



Along rivers and streams, where it is sometimes gregarious. Singbhum ! 

 Monghyr, Mokim I Perennial. P'l. Oct.-Dec 



Sessile spkts. gl. ii narrower than i, verj^ convex or keeled upwards, very acute 

 or almost cuspidate, 7-nerved, sparsely silky on back, keel scabrid ; iii little 

 shorter than i and ii, broadly lanceolate, hyaline, margins inflexed from the 

 2 marginal nerves which are ciliate ; iv about three-fourths i, either broadlj- oblong 

 obtuse without an awn (the most of the spkts.) or awned from near the base and 

 2-fid, always very ciliate or sub-iimbriate, awn when present '-i-'o". Lodicules 

 fleshy compressed quadrate crescentic at top with a few cilia on each horn. 

 Anthers "l". Grain obovoid fuscous, "07". Ped. spkt. linear 'IG" (Monghyr) to 

 lanceolate '24" (Singbhum), pale green to red; gl. i nari-ow-lanceolate 7-nerved, 

 dorsally depressed betweeii the prominent hispid keels and margins inflexed, 

 subcnspidate, 7-nerved ; ii cymbiform-lanceolate sharply acuminate, 5-nerved, 

 midrib scabi'ellous, inflexed margins silky; iii about three-fourths 1, glabrous 

 2-keeled and with incurved margins (Singbhum) sparsely ciliate (Monghyr); iv 

 (0 in Monghyr specimen) two-thirds iii with Ijase embracing the red lodicules. 



Hooker states of this g'rass that "it is no doubt the wild form of A)idroj)oqoj» 

 Sorghum" {Sorghum vulgure). It is a good fodder and the grain is eaten. 



2. S. vulgare, Pers. Syn. Andropogon Sorghum, Brot. ; Gangai, K. ; 



Juar, H., S. ; Sissua, Mai Pah. 

 A stout usually tall annual with broadly linear leaves with a pro- 

 minent white midrib and a usually thyrsiform decompound panicle 

 with crowded whorls of erect branches and branchlets, rarely subeffuse. 



1033 



