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

giant bristlegrass

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

30-120 cm;

nodes glabrous.

to 6 m tall, 2-3 cm thick at the base.

Sheaths

glabrous;

ligules shorter than 1 mm, of hairs;

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

glabrous, smooth or scabrous, margins villous distally;

ligules 1-2 mm, ciliate;

blades to 60 cm long, to 3.5 cm wide, flat.

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 50 cm long, to 5 cm wide, densely spikelike;

rachises densely villous;

bristles 1 or 2, 10-20 mm, flexible, antrorsely scabrous.

Spikelets

2-2.8 mm, elliptical and turgid.

about 2 mm, disarticulating between the lower and upper florets.

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

upper glumes equaling the lower lemmas, 7-veined;

lower florets often staminate;

lower lemmas slightly exceeding the upper lemmas;

lower paleas equaling the lower lemmas, broad, hyaline, minutely pubescent over the veins;

upper lemmas smooth and shiny brown;

upper paleas similar to the upper lemmas.

2n

= 36, 72.

= 36.

Setaria parviflora

Setaria magna

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
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from FNA
AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; LA; MD; MS; NC; NJ; NM; SC; TX; VA; PR
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[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 magna grows in saline marshes along the eastern coast of the United States. There are also disjunct populations in brackish swamps in Arkansas, and in Texas and southeastern New Mexico as well as in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Mexico, and Costa Rica. It may have been recently introduced to some of these regions, including inland areas of the Flora region.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 556. FNA vol. 25, p. 552.
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. macrosperma, S. macrostachya, 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 Griseb.
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