The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

knot-root bristlegrass, knotroot foxtail, marsh bristle grass, yellow bristlegrass

coral bristlegrass

Habit Plants perennial; rhizomatous, rhizomes short, knotty. Plants perennial.
Culms

30-120 cm;

nodes glabrous.

1-1.5 m.

Sheaths

glabrous;

ligules shorter than 1 mm, of hairs;

blades to 25 cm long, 2-8 mm wide, flat, scabrous above.

prominently keeled, margins villous;

ligules 1-3 mm;

blades 1-2 cm wide, flat, scabrous.

Panicles

3-8 (10) cm, of uniform width throughout their length, densely spikelike;

rachises scabro-hispid;

bristles 4-12, 2-12 mm, antrorsely barbed, yellow to purple.

to 25 cm, loosely spicate;

rachises readily visible, sparsely villous;

bristles 1(2), 15-30 mm, flexible, antrorsely scabrous.

Spikelets

2-2.8 mm, elliptical and turgid.

3-3.2 mm.

Lower

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

upper glumes 1/2 - 2/3 as long as the spikelets, 5-veined;

lower florets often staminate;

lower lemmas occasionally indurate and faintly transversely rugose;

lower paleas equaling the lower lemmas;

upper lemmas distinctly transversely rugose, often purple-tipped.

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

upper glumes about 3/4 as long as the spikelets, 5-veined;

lower lemmas equaling the upper lemmas;

lower paleas about 1/2 as long as the upper paleas, hyaline, narrow;

upper lemmas finely and transversely rugose;

upper paleas similar to the upper lemmas.

2n

= 36, 72.

= unknown.

Setaria parviflora

Setaria macrosperma

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; UT; VA; WA; WV; HI; PR; Virgin Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; GA; SC
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Setaria parviflora is a common, native species of moist ground. It is most frequent along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, but it also grows from the Central Valley of California east through the central United States and southward through Mexico to Central America, as well as in the West Indies. The plant from Oregon was found on a ballast dump; the species is not established in that state.

Setaria parviflora is the most morphologically diverse and widely distributed of the indigenous perennial species of Setaria.

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

Setaria macrosperma grows on shell or coral islands, and occasionally in old fields or hammocks. It is most frequent in Florida, but has been collected in both South Carolina and Georgia. It also grows in the Bahamas and Mexico.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 556. FNA vol. 25, p. 550.
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. faberi, S. grisebachii, S. italica, S. leucopila, S. liebmannii, S. macrosperma, S. macrostachya, S. magna, S. megaphylla, S. palmifolia, 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. 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
Synonyms S. imberbis, S. gracilis, S. geniculata
Name authority (Poir.) Kerguelen (Scribn. & Merr.) K. Schum.
Web links