from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Andropogon \An`dro*po"gon\, n. [NL.; Gr. 'anh`r, 'andro`s, man +
pw`gwn the beard.] (Bot.)
A very large and important genus of grasses, found in nearly
all parts of the world. It includes the lemon grass of Ceylon
and the beard grass, or broom sedge, of the United States.
The principal subgenus is {Sorghum}, including {Andropogon
sorghum} and {Andropogon halepensis}, from which have been
derived the Chinese sugar cane, the Johnson grass, the Aleppo
grass, the broom corn, and the durra, or Indian millet.
Several East Indian species, as {Andropogon nardus} and
{Andropogon sch[oe]nanthus}, yield fragrant oils, used in
perfumery.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]