The Collaborative International Dictionary
Johnson grass \John"son grass`\ [Named after W. Johnson of Alabama, who planted it about 1840-1845.] (Bot.) A tall perennial grass ( Sorghum Halepense), valuable in the Southern and Western States for pasture and hay. The rootstocks are large and juicy and are eagerly sought by swine. Called also Cuba grass, Means grass, Evergreen millet, and Arabian millet.
Wikipedia
Johnson grass or Johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense, is a plant in the grass family, Poaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, but grows throughout Europe and the Middle East. The plant has been introduced to all continents except Antarctica, and most larger islands and archipelagos. It reproduces by rhizomes and seeds.
Johnson grass has been used for forage and to stop erosion, but it is often considered a weed because:
- Foliage that becomes wilted from frost or hot, dry weather can contain sufficient amounts of hydrogen cyanide to kill cattle and horses if it is eaten in quantity.
- The foliage can cause 'bloat' in such herbivores from the accumulation of excessive nitrates; otherwise, it is edible.
- It grows and spreads so quickly, it can 'choke out' other cash crops planted by farmers.
This species occurs in crop fields, pastures, abandoned fields, rights-of-way, forest edges, and along streambanks. It thrives in open, disturbed, rich, bottom ground, particularly in cultivated fields. Johnson grass resistant to the common herbicide glyphosate has been found in Argentina and the United States. It is considered to be one of the ten worst weeds in the world.
It is named after an Alabama plantation owner, Colonel William Johnson, who sowed its seeds on river-bottom farm land circa 1840. The plant was already established in several US states a decade earlier, having been introduced as a prospective forage or accidentally as a seedlot contaminant.
Usage examples of "johnson grass".
As farmers we hated Johnson grass, but for the first time in my life I was thankful for it.
I stayed low, moving through the tall Johnson grass along the edge of the field.
And then the oil is gone and the houses stand black and abandoned, lost and lonely looking behind the pest growths of sunflowers and sage and Johnson grass.
It was bordered on one side by a vacant lot, a hundred squarefoot jungle of weeds and Johnson grass, on the other by a crumbling brick warehouse.