A quick glance around Marshall County this time of year reveals plenty of Johnson grass. The plant is easily seen along roadside ditches and fence lines. Often it is seen in abundance in open fields.
Most people hear the name Johnson Grass and immediately recall what it looks like, but for the ones that don’t know, here is a brief description: Johnson Grass is a tall grass usually between two and ten feet. It has leaves about two feet long and about one inch wide on a reed-like stalk with a seedy top that begins a light white color and progresses to a reddish color then turns to a black color.
For some residents, the seed was all they possessed.
Third Generation Oklahoman and local resident Allen Wallace recalled a story of his grandfather who was an original Dawes Commission enrollee and citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and came to this part of the country in the 1800’s.
“Grandpa was relocated to this area of Indian Territory and arrived with nothing more than a handkerchief folded with a hand full of Johnson Grass seeds,” Wallace said. “Just look around now, it is everywhere!”
Wallace’s grandfather thought ahead when he brought the seeds. “Grandpa knew that it didn’t grow in this part of the country so he carried some with him.”
A story like this is reason enough to investigate Johnson grass a little further.
Johnson Grass was named after an Alabama plantation owner Colonel William Johnson who sowed its seeds on river bottom farmland according to Cambridge.org. A further search on this name opened up an entire silo of names and origins. It is the scientific name used to identify this plant is Sorghum halapense.
Other monikers for Johnson Grass are Guinea grass, Means grass, Samoa grass, Egyptian millet, Australian millet, Morocco millet, Syrian grass and bankruptcy grass according to a study by C.D. McWhorter in a report titled “Introduction and spread of Johnson grass in the U.S.”. The most common name used before Johnson grass was Guinea grass.
Having the scientific name sorghum would lead one to believe that Johnson grass would taste like sorghum (sweet-like). A simple test reveals that the seeds when blackish in color, do in fact have a sweet sorghum taste.
Natives in America used the Guinea grass for food. The seeds were used as a type of grain and milled for bread and cereals. The seedy grain was also used for chicken and hog food. The leaves were used to feed many types of livestock. The leaves were also used for baskets, shelter, animal traps, and clothing. The stalks were often used as arrow bodies as well as weaving products.
Texas made a law in 1900 against any intentional cultivation of Johnson grass. This law led to other states following. In some rare cases, potential cyanide detection occurred in Johnson grass. The grass does have the potential to extract cyanide from soil in some cases, however when the leaves are dried or after a freeze the level is not present.
Mere coincidence is that the Buffalo were eradicated about the same decade as the sustaining Johnson grass, both being vital items to Native American and early American survival. The eradication of these things led to a dependency on cultivated grains and farm grown animal proteins. One would question the reasoning to such.
In searching for the origin of Johnson grass, many theories are available and seem to be quite conflicting. The most common theory is the plant was brought over to America from Africa about the same time period as slaves were brought to this country, however finding any concrete evidence that it was not in America before this period seems impossible.
One obvious fact about Johnson grass is that it is and has been in MC over one hundred and fifty years. It seems to be everywhere one looks. Also, with some research, a person will find that it is edible and in fact quite tasty.
So, if it doesn’t affect anything in the yard, take a moment to gaze at its beauty and realize that it is and has been an important part of Marshall county and might just as well be considered a native plant.