Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

JOHNSON GRASS

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Sorghum halepense (L. ) Pers.

Mitchell County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 2-7 feet

Family: Poaceae - Grass Family

Flowering Period: July, August, September,October

Culms:

Erect, stout, simple or branched, pubescent at nodes, otherwise glabrous.

Blades:

Flat, 8 to 36 inches long, .5 to 1.5 inches wide, drooping, usually glabrous, often purple spotted, midrib prominent.

Sheaths:

Usually shorter than internodes, open.

Ligules:

Membranous, conspicuously fringed.

Inflorescences:

Panicles, open, oval to oblong in outline, 6 to 20 inches long, often purplish; branches whorled; axils hairy.

Spikelets:

In pairs; sessile spikelets fertile, 2-flowered, ovate-lanceolate, pale greenish yellow to purplish; awns to 1/2 inch long, twisted and bent; stalked spikelets usually staminate, narrower, lanceolate; awns absent.

Habitat:

Open waste areas, roadsides and field margins, in moist soil.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Origin:

Johnson grass is a native of the Mediterranean region and was introduced into the U.S. around 1830.

Forage Value:

Johnson grass has moderate forage value but is poisonous to livestock if grazed under drought conditions or following the first frost due to its prussic acid content.

Uses:

Kiowa children used the stems and leaves to make whistles.

Comments:

Rhizomatous. Johnson grass has been used for forage and to stop soil erosion, but it can become a troublesome weed. Its strong rhizomes make it difficult to eradicate.

Johnson grass