OregonFlora: Setaria adhaerans vs. Setaria

	Setaria adhaerans	Setaria
		foxtail
Habit		Plants annual or perennial; cespitose, rarely rhizomatous.
Culms		erect or decumbent, 10–600 cm tall.
Leaves		sheaths open; ligules membranous and ciliate or comprised of hairs; blades flat or folded.
Inflorescences		terminal panicles, usually dense and spike-like; disarticulation usually below the glumes spikelets falling intact but leaving the bristles behind (disarticulation between the lower and upper florets in cultivated S. italica).
Spikelets		dorsiventrally flattened or round in cross section, ellipsoid, rarely globose, subsessile or on short pedicels; in clusters or single on short branches; some or all spikelets subtended by 1–several bristles.
Glumes		lower glumes less than half as long as the spikelets, 1–7-veined; upper glumes half to nearly equal the upper lemmas in length, 3–9-veined.
Caryopses		small, ellipsoid to subglobose, dorsiventrally compressed.
Florets		lower florets staminate or sterile; lower lemmas equaling or rarely exceeding the upper lemmas, rarely absent, 5–7-veined; upper florets bisexual; upper lemmas and paleas hard and transversely rugose or rarely smooth.
Anthers		3.

	Setaria adhaerans	Setaria
Distribution		[BONAP county map]
Discussion		Tropical and warm-temperate regions worldwide. Approximately 140 species; 3 species treated in Flora. Most Setaria species are weeds of disturbed areas, including crop felds and are of major economic importance in some areas. One species, S. italica, foxtail millet, is cultivated for grain. It is similar to S. viridis but its inflorescences are usually wider and its spikelets are about 3 mm. The common name “foxtail” is shared with the genus Alopecurus, which has awns in the inflorescence but no bristles. Setaria parviflora was collected in Portland in 1916 but did not persist. It is native to the southern half of the United States, Central America and the West Indies. It is a rhizomatous perennial with scabrous leaves that lack hairs and upper glumes half to two-thirds as long as the spikelets. Setaria viridis var. major was collected in Portland in 1920, but apparently it has not persisted. It is 100–250 cm tall with leaf blades 10–25 mm wide and panicles 10–20 cm.
Source		Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 477 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
Sibling taxa	S. faberi, S. parviflora, S. pumila, S. verticillata, S. viridis
Subordinate taxa		S. faberi, S. parviflora, S. pumila, S. verticillata, S. viridis
Web links	Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Setaria adhaerans

Setaria

foxtail

Habit

Plants annual or perennial; cespitose, rarely rhizomatous.

Culms

erect or decumbent, 10–600 cm tall.

Leaves

sheaths open;

ligules membranous and ciliate or comprised of hairs;

blades flat or folded.

Inflorescences

terminal panicles, usually dense and spike-like;

disarticulation usually below the glumes spikelets falling intact but leaving the bristles behind (disarticulation between the lower and upper florets in cultivated S. italica).

Spikelets

dorsiventrally flattened or round in cross section, ellipsoid, rarely globose, subsessile or on short pedicels; in clusters or single on short branches; some or all spikelets subtended by 1–several bristles.

Glumes

lower glumes less than half as long as the spikelets, 1–7-veined;

upper glumes half to nearly equal the upper lemmas in length, 3–9-veined.

Caryopses

small, ellipsoid to subglobose, dorsiventrally compressed.

Florets

lower florets staminate or sterile; lower lemmas equaling or rarely exceeding the upper lemmas, rarely absent, 5–7-veined; upper florets bisexual; upper lemmas and paleas hard and transversely rugose or rarely smooth.

Anthers

Setaria adhaerans

Setaria

Distribution

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Tropical and warm-temperate regions worldwide. Approximately 140 species; 3 species treated in Flora.

Most Setaria species are weeds of disturbed areas, including crop felds and are of major economic importance in some areas. One species, S. italica, foxtail millet, is cultivated for grain. It is similar to S. viridis but its inflorescences are usually wider and its spikelets are about 3 mm. The common name “foxtail” is shared with the genus Alopecurus, which has awns in the inflorescence but no bristles. Setaria parviflora was collected in Portland in 1916 but did not persist. It is native to the southern half of the United States, Central America and the West Indies. It is a rhizomatous perennial with scabrous leaves that lack hairs and upper glumes half to two-thirds as long as the spikelets. Setaria viridis var. major was collected in Portland in 1920, but apparently it has not persisted. It is 100–250 cm tall with leaf blades 10–25 mm wide and panicles 10–20 cm.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 477
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting

Sibling taxa

S. faberi, S. parviflora, S. pumila, S. verticillata, S. viridis

Subordinate taxa

S. faberi, S. parviflora, S. pumila, S. verticillata, S. viridis

Web links