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Chinese foxtail, Chinese millet, foxtail, giant bristlegrass, giant foxtail, Japanese bristlegrass, setaire géante

pigeon grass, wood groundsel, yellow bristlegrass, yellow foxtail

Habit Plants annual. Plants annual.
Culms

50-200 cm.

30-130 cm.

Sheaths

glabrous, fringed with white hairs;

ligules about 2 mm;

blades 15-30 cm long, 10-20 mm wide, usually with soft hairs on the adaxial surface.

glabrous;

ligules ciliate;

blades 4-10 mm wide, loosely twisted, adaxial surfaces with papillose-based hairs basally.

Panicles

6-20 cm, densely spicate, arching and drooping from near the base;

rachises densely villous;

bristles (1)3(6), about 10 mm.

3-15 cm, uniformly thick, erect, densely spicate;

rachises hispid;

bristles 4-12, 3-8 mm, antrorsely scabrous.

Spikelets

2.5-3 mm.

2-3.4 mm, strongly turgid.

Lower glumes

about 1 mm, acute, 3-veined;

upper glumes about 2.2 mm, obtuse, 5-veined;

lower lemmas about 2.8 mm, obtuse;

lower paleas about 2/3 as long as the lower lemmas;

upper lemmas pale, finely and distinctly transversely rugose;

upper paleas similar to the upper lemmas.

about 1/3 as long as the spikelets, 3-veined, acute;

upper glumes about 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 5-veined, ovate;

upper florets often staminate;

lower lemmas equaling the upper lemmas;

lower paleas equaling the lower lemmas, broad;

upper lemmas conspicuously exposed, strongly transversely rugose.

2n

= 36.

= 36, 72.

Setaria faberi

Setaria pumila

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; HI; AB; BC; LB; MB; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Setaria faberi spread rapidly throughout the North American corn belt after being accidentally introduced from China in the 1920s. It has become a major nuisance in corn and bean fields of the midwestern United States.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Spikelets 3-3.4 mm long; bristles yellow
subsp. pumila
1. Spikelets 2-2.5 mm long; bristles reddish subsp. pallidefusca
subsp. pallidefusca
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 556. FNA vol. 25, p. 558.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Setaria > subg. Setaria Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Setaria > subg. Setaria
Sibling taxa
S. adhaerans, S. arizonica, S. barbata, S. chapmanii, S. corrugata, S. grisebachii, S. italica, S. leucopila, S. liebmannii, S. macrosperma, S. macrostachya, S. magna, S. megaphylla, S. palmifolia, S. parviflora, S. pumila, S. rariflora, S. reverchonii, S. scheelei, S. setosa, S. sphacelata, S. texana, S. verticillata, S. verticilliformis, S. villosissima, S. viridis
S. adhaerans, S. arizonica, S. barbata, S. chapmanii, S. corrugata, S. faberi, S. grisebachii, S. italica, S. leucopila, S. liebmannii, S. macrosperma, S. macrostachya, S. magna, S. megaphylla, S. palmifolia, S. parviflora, S. rariflora, S. reverchonii, S. scheelei, S. setosa, S. sphacelata, S. texana, S. verticillata, S. verticilliformis, S. villosissima, S. viridis
Subordinate taxa
S. pumila subsp. pallidefusca, S. pumila subsp. pumila
Name authority R.A.W. Herrm. (Poir.) Roem. & Schult.
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