Sorghum vulgare L. Pers.

Sorghum vulgare L. Pers.. Broomcorn is a coarse annual grass that grows 6 to 15 ft tall. It has woody stalks with dry pith and 8 to 15 nodes and leaves above the ground. The upper internode, or peduncle, is 8 to 18 in. long and topped by a series of closely compressed panicle nodes from which the fibers develop. The fibers, usually 12 to 24 in. long, are branched toward the tip, and the flowers and seeds are borne at the tips of the small branches. The seeds are brown, broadly boat-shaped and enclosed in tan, reddish tan or brown, pubescent glumes. The glumes generally remain on the mature seeds, and 30,000 seeds weigh approximately one pound.