Setaria macrostachya
Setaria liebmannii
large-spike bristlegrass, plains bristlegrass
Liebmann bristlegrass, Liebmann's bristlegrass
60-120 cm, rarely branched distally, scabrous below the nodes and panicles.
30-90 cm.
keeled, glabrous, usually with a few white hairs at the throat;
ligules 2-4 mm, densely ciliate;
blades 15-20 cm long, 7-15 mm wide, flat, adaxial surface scabrous.
glabrous, margins ciliate;
ligules ciliate;
blades to 20 cm long, 10-20 mm wide, flat, scabrous on both surfaces.
10-30 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, uniformly thick from the base to the apex, dense, rarely lobed basally;
rachises scabrous and loosely pilose;
bristles usually solitary, 10-20 mm, soft, antrorsely scabrous.
10-25 cm, loosely spicate;
rachises scabrous;
bristles solitary, 7-15 mm, slender, antrorsely scabrous.
2-2.3 mm, subspherical.
2-2.7(3) mm.
1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 3-5-veined;
upper glumes about 3/4 as long as the spikelets, 5-7-veined;
lower lemmas equaling the upper lemmas, 5-veined;
lower paleas nearly equaling the upper paleas in length and width;
upper lemmas transversely rugose;
upper paleas convex, ovate.
about 1/3 as long as the spikelets, 3-veined;
upper glumes and lower lemmas 7-veined, the 5 central veins coalescing at the apices;
lower paleas absent;
upper lemmas gibbous, strongly and coarsely transversely rugose;
upper paleas similar to the upper lemmas.
= 54.
= 18.
Setaria macrostachya
Setaria liebmannii
Setaria macrostachya is abundant in the desert grass-lands of the southwestern United States, particularly in southern Arizon and Texas. It extends south through the highlands of central Mexico. It also grows in the West Indies, but is not common there. It is a valuable forage grass in the Flora region.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Within the Flora region, Setaria liebmannii is known only from southern Arizona, but it is a common species along the Pacific slope from northern Mexico to Nicaragua, usually growing at elevations below 750 m. The five apically coalescing veins and the additional free pair at the periphery are unique among the Setaria species in the Flora region.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
