Johnson Grass - Wilderness Weed of the Week
Johnson Grass (Sorghum halepense) is one of the most beautiful grasses with a white pin stripped leaf. The seed head is ornate but the real story is what you do not see. The root system is full of tubers or rhizomes. It's been around since the early 1800s imported from Mediterranean for a forage crop. I selected this plant because while cutting hay I found a small circle of these very tall garasses in my hay field. This plant was custom designed for wilderness. In fact most roads in the Smokey Mountains have Johnson Grass growing thick on the sides of the roads. The Tennessee department of transportation uses special mowers to handle this tough guy.
I wonder how those fragile little pristine cactus would fair in a patch of Johnson Grass? Climate Change would have very little effect on Johnson Grass. Anyone wishing to check out Johnson Grass would not have very far to go. It's just a matter of knowing what one is looking over. The tubers are best for planting but the seeds are large and hardy. look out wilderness Johnson is moving in!
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