Sorghum bicolor, commonly called sorghum and also known as durra or jowari, is a grass species cultivated for its edible grain. Sorghum originated in northern Africa, and is now cultivated widely in tropical and subtropical regions. S. bicolor is typically an annual, but some cultivars are perennial. It grows in clumps that may reach over 4 metres high. The grain is small, ranging from 3 to 4 mm in diameter. Sweet sorghums are sorghum cultivars that are primarily grown for foliage; they are shorter than those grown for grain.

S. bicolor is the cultivated species of sorghum; its wild relatives make up the botanical genus Sorghum.

The species can grow in arid soils and withstand prolonged droughts. It has four features that make it one of the most drought-resistant crops of all.

Richard Pankhurst reports (citing Augustus B. Wylde) that in 19th-century Ethiopia, Durra was "often the first crop sown on newly cultivated land", explaining that this cereal did not require the thorough ploughing other crops did, and its roots not only decomposed into a good fertilizer, but they also helped to break up the soil while not exhausting the subsoil.