Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Sorghum verticilliflorum (Steudel) Stapf

Common name(s): [more details]

English: common wild sorghum

Fijian: kavirondo sorghum

Habit:  grass

Description: 

Genus: "Annuals or perennials; panicle terminal, consisting of 1-5 disarticulating racemes; rachis disarticulating in wild species but usually not in cultivated species; spikelets paired or in threes, dissimilar, the sessile spikelets bisexual and seed-bearing, the pedicelled male or neuter" (Smith, 1979; p. 376).

Species:  "Perennial, the culms 90-120 cm or more high; leaf blades 45-90 cm long, 5-7.5 cm broad, tapering to a fine point; spikelets golden-brown in color, turning black at maturity, 6-7 mm long, the lower glume lacking an awn or, on a few spikelets, mucronate." (Smith, 1979)"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, male or barren, smaller than the sessile"  (Clayton and Renvoize, 1982; p. 727).

Description from World Grass Species.

Habitat/ecology:  "Swampy soils, streamsides and black clays; also in disturbed places and old farmland; 0-1800 (-2900) m" (Clayton and Renvoize, 1982; p. 727).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  East Africa and Indian Ocean islands (Smith, 1979; p. 376).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 12) Vouchers cited: M. Lazarides 8031 (CANB, K); P.S. Green 2416 (K); M. Lazarides 11318 (NSW); Nov. 1902, J.H. Maiden & J.L. Boorman (NSW)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 376) Cultivated in Smith. Voucher cited: DA 9121
French Polynesia French Polynesia Islands	French Polynesia Islands		Waterhouse, D. F. (1997) (p. 65)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (pp. 251-252) Voucher cited: CHR 168733
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive	Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 57) Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 6) As Sorghum sudanense. Voucher specimens collected: Flynn 6684, Flynn 6685
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive	Whistler, W. A./Atherton, J. (1997) (p. 56) Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate (2004) (p. 10)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1997) (p. 65)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 110)
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007) Naturalized

Additional information:  Additional online information about Sorghum arundinaceum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Sorghum arundinaceum may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Clayton, W. D./Renvoize, S. A. 1982. Gramineae (Part 3). In: Flora of tropical East Africa, R.M. Polhill, ed. Crown Agents, London.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2000. Report to the Government of Niue on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 34 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate. 2004. Report to the Government of Niue and the United Nations Development Programme: Invasive plant species on Niue following Cyclone Heta. UNDP NIU/98/G31 - Niue Enabling Activity. 80 pp.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Waterhouse, D. F. 1997. The major invertebrate pests and weeds of agriculture and plantation forestry in the Southern and Western Pacific. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. 93 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 1988. Checklist of the weed flora of western Polynesia. Technical Paper No. 194, South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 69 pp.

Whistler, W. A./Atherton, J. 1997. Botanical survey of the Huvalu Forest Conservation Area, Niue. Unpublished technical report. 76 pp.