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Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
23CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY
Genus host records with ranges including KY · Sorghum
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Acronicta insularisHenry's Marsh Moth, Cattail Caterpillar
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Agrotis malefidaRascal Dart, Pale-Sided Cut-Worm, Shagreened Cut-Worm
- Amblyscirtes belliBell's Roadside-Skipper
- Amblyscirtes hegonPepper and Salt Skipper
- Anatrachyntis rileyiPink Scavanger Caterpillar
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Diatraea crambidoidesSouthern Cornstalk Borer
- Dicymolomia julianalisJulia's Dicymolomia
Show all 23
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Leucania multilineaMany-Lined Wainscot
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Nastra lherminierSwarthy Skipper
- Nola cereellaSorghum Cutworm, Sorghum Webworm Moth, Sorgham Webworm Moth
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Spodoptera albulaWhite-Spotted Armyworm, Gray-Streaked Armyworm
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Astala confederata
23BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Sorghum
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
- Antigone canadensisSandhill Crane
- Branta canadensisCanada Goose
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
- Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
- Columba liviaRock Pigeon
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Corvus brachyrhynchosAmerican Crow
Show all 23
- Corvus cryptoleucusChihuahuan Raven
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Dendrocygna autumnalisBlack-bellied Whistling-Duck
- Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Passer domesticusHouse Sparrow
- Quiscalus majorBoat-tailed Grackle
- Quiscalus mexicanusGreat-tailed Grackle
- Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
- Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
- Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 2a–11b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Brown/copper or yellow
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Brown/copper or yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 2a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual or perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Very dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Sorghum; Sorghum vulgare
Conservation status
| Kentucky rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| KY status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- tnky_atlas
- usda
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

