Midwestern Grain is Latest Random Upper West Side Plant
Posted on October 11, 2019 at 12:03 pm by West Sider
For some reason, the Upper West Side has been particularly fertile this year, growing melons, poisonous weeds and other delights. The latest flora to take root appears to be sorghum, a grain that’s grown in places like Kansas and Texas and is “used for food, animal fodder, the production of alcoholic beverages, and biofuels.” Tipster Nick found some of the grain growing in a planter in front of Alice’s Tea Cup on 73rd Street near Columbus Avenue.
Any botanists in the house? Can you confirm?
This is random, but I have some of these growing on my terrace with a few large potted plants. They don’t look awful so I’ve let them be for now.
Milo,maize. Livestock feed additive. Also used in Sudan without modification.
Sorghum I believe… it’s not unheard of in NY but definitely uncommon!
Blame the European starling
Yes, indeed, Westsider. The plant is Sorhgum bicolor, a very important grain from Africa where hundreds of varieties have been developed, each adapted to micro habitats and particular desirable traits like sugar content, storage, etc….
The New York Botanical Garden where I work is cataloging all the wild plants of the City. Observations like this are extremely helpful; as were the Datura sightings. It all gets recorded. We encourage everyone to get the easy-to-use iNaturalist app and help document and conserve our biodiversity. The program also has an astonishingly accurate identifier tool.
You can see below that Sorghum has been observed several times in NYC. It is spread by people casting bird seed containing Sorghum seeds. This is not indigenous to NYC, but it’s not a fearsome invasive either like the very destructive Porcelain Berry.
Sorghum in NYC
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=674&taxon_id=58389
Check out the EcoFlora at https://www.nybg.org/EcoFlora
I’ve bought NY sorghum syrup from local green markets, so it must not be that uncommon.
Sorghum . . . such a lovely-sounding word . . . makes me think of going to the dentist. And sorghum is gluten free! Oh glad day!
Family, genus,species,or monsantoed?
My “picture this” software analyzed it as “grain sorghum.” I screen shot both photos and they both emerged with identical I.D.’s.