Shattercane

Shattercane

[Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]

Poaceae (Grass Family)

▲ ▼ young plants

▲ ▼ mature plants, showing dark, large panicle inflorescences

▲ ▼ another mature plant with lighter inflorescences

▲ ▼ inflorescences

▲ close-up of shiny florets

▲ large leaves with prominent midvein

Shattercane: (pp. 468-469, Weeds of the Great Plains; pp. 84-85, Weeds of the Northeast)

warm-season, summer annual grass growing 4-8’ tall
leaves and inflorescence similar to grain sorghum, but flowers/seed often dark red to black in color when mature
panicle is more open than that of cultivated grain sorghum
seeds “shatter" or disperse from seedhead easily, promoting their re-occurance in a field, often as a result of harvesting grain sorghum
generally found in corn and grain sorghum fields or some roadside right-of-ways