Sorghum arundinaceum, the common wild sorghum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae. It is native to Sub‑Saharan Africa, Madagascar, many of the Indian Ocean islands, and the Indian Subcontinent, and has been introduced to northern South America, the US states of California and Florida, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, New Guinea, and a number of smaller islands worldwide. It is the wild progenitor of cultivated sorghum, Sorghum bicolor, with some authorities considering it to be a mere variety or subspecies; Sorghum bicolor var. arundinaceum, or Sorghum bicolor subsp. verticilliflorum.