Setaria grisebachii
Setaria italica
Grisebach bristlegrass, Grisebach's bristlegrass
foxtail bristlegrass, foxtail millet, Italian bristle grass, Italian foxtail, millet des oiseaux, millet foxtail, setaire d'italie, setaire italienne
30-100 cm;
nodes pubescent, hairs appressed.
10-100 cm.
with ciliate margins;
ligules ciliate;
blades to 12(25) cm long, to 10(20) mm wide, flat, hispid on both surfaces.
mostly glabrous, margins sparsely ciliate;
ligules 1-2 mm;
blades to 20 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, flat, scabrous.
3-18 cm, loosely spicate, interrupted, often purple;
rachises hispid;
bristles 1-3, 5-15 mm, flexible, antrorsely scabrous.
8-30 cm, dense, spikelike, occasionally lobed below;
rachises hispid to villous;
bristles 1-3, to 12 mm, tawny or purple.
1.5-2.2 mm.
about 3 mm, disarticulating between the lower and upper florets.
about 1/3 as long as the spikelets, distinctly 3-veined, lateral veins coalescing with the central veins below the apices;
upper glumes nearly equaling the upper lemmas, obtuse, 5-veined;
lower lemmas equaling the upper lemmas;
lower paleas about 1/3 as long as the lower lemmas, narrow;
upper lemmas finely and transversely rugose;
upper paleas similar to the upper lemmas.
3-veined;
upper glumes 5-7-veined;
lower paleas absent or 1/2 as long as the lower lemmas;
upper lemmas very finely and transversely rugose to smooth and shiny, exposed at maturity.
= unknown.
= 18.
Setaria grisebachii
Setaria italica
Setaria grisebachii is the most widespread and abundant native annual species of Setaria in the south-western United States. It grows in open ground and extends along the central highlands of Mexico to Guatemala, usually at elevations of 750-2500 m. The specimens from Maryland were collected on chrome ore piles; the species is not established in the state.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Setaria italica was cultivated in China as early as 2700 B.C. and during the Stone Age in Europe. Nowadays it is grown mostly for hay or as a pasture grass, but it has been used as a substitute for rice in northern China. It is sometimes cultivated in North America, but it is better known as a weed in moist ditches, mostly in the northeastern United States. It is closely related to S. viridis, differing in the longer (3 mm) spikelets and smooth, shiny upper florets which readily disarticulate above the lower florets. It exhibits considerable variation in seed and bristle color, bristle length, and panicle shape. Using these characters, Hubbard (1915) recognized several infraspecific taxa; they are not treated here.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
WA - Local Web sites:
CalFlora, CalPhotos, 
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
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MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
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