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

Brazilian bristlegrass

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

30-120 cm;

nodes glabrous.

30-70 cm, usually erect, branching profusely at the base;

nodes glabrous or sparsely hispid.

Sheaths

glabrous;

ligules shorter than 1 mm, of hairs;

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

keeled, sparsely pubescent, margins ciliate distally;

ligules to 1 mm, of hairs;

blades 15-30 cm long, usually less than 5 mm wide, densely pubescent on both surfaces.

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.

5-15 cm, slender, attenuate, interrupted, sparsely flowered;

rachises pubescent;

branches mostly shorter than 10 mm, villous;

bristles usually solitary, 4-7 mm, antrorsely scabrous.

Spikelets

2-2.8 mm, elliptical and turgid.

about 2 mm, ovate-lanceolate.

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 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 5-7-veined;

lower lemmas equaling the upper lemmas;

lower paleas equaling the upper paleas, broad;

upper lemmas finely and distinctly transversely rugose;

upper paleas similar to the upper lemmas.

2n

= 36, 72.

= unknown.

Setaria parviflora

Setaria rariflora

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; FL; PR; Virgin Islands
[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 rariflora has its center of distribution in South America. It is probably only recently adventive in North America, where it is known from Florida and the West Indies.

(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. macrosperma, S. macrostachya, S. magna, S. megaphylla, S. palmifolia, S. parviflora, S. pumila, 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 J.C. Mikan ex Trin.
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