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West Indian bristlegrass, West Indies bristlegrass

pigeon grass, wood groundsel, yellow bristlegrass, yellow foxtail

Habit Plants perennial. Plants annual.
Culms

50-100 cm;

nodes usually glabrous.

30-130 cm.

Sheaths

glabrous or finely pubescent, margins ciliate distally;

ligules of 1 mm hairs;

blades 15-20 cm long, 6-12 mm wide, flat or folded, often finely pubescent on both surfaces.

glabrous;

ligules ciliate;

blades 4-10 mm wide, loosely twisted, adaxial surfaces with papillose-based hairs basally.

Panicles

15-20 cm, loosely spikelike, interrupted, attenuate;

rachises often villous;

branches ascending, lower branches about 2.5 cm;

bristles usually solitary, less than 10 mm, antrorsely scabrous.

3-15 cm, uniformly thick, erect, densely spicate;

rachises hispid;

bristles 4-12, 3-8 mm, antrorsely scabrous.

Spikelets

2-2.5 mm, ovate-lanceolate.

2-3.4 mm, strongly turgid.

Lower glumes

about 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 3-veined;

upper glumes about 2/3 as long as the spikelets, 5-7-veined;

lower lemmas equaling the upper lemmas;

lower paleas as long as the upper paleas, broad;

upper lemmas finely and distinctly transversely rugose.

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

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

upper florets often staminate;

lower lemmas equaling the upper lemmas;

lower paleas equaling the lower lemmas, broad;

upper lemmas conspicuously exposed, strongly transversely rugose.

2n

= unknown.

= 36, 72.

Setaria setosa

Setaria pumila

Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; NJ; PR; Virgin Islands
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; HI; AB; BC; LB; MB; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Setaria setosa is native to the West Indies and Mexico. It is probably a recent introduction to Florida, but appears to be established there. The specimen from New Jersey was from a ballast dump; the species is not established in that state.

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

Key
1. Spikelets 3-3.4 mm long; bristles yellow
subsp. pumila
1. Spikelets 2-2.5 mm long; bristles reddish subsp. pallidefusca
subsp. pallidefusca
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 550. FNA vol. 25, p. 558.
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. parviflora, S. pumila, S. rariflora, S. reverchonii, S. scheelei, 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. rariflora, S. reverchonii, S. scheelei, S. setosa, S. sphacelata, S. texana, S. verticillata, S. verticilliformis, S. villosissima, S. viridis
Subordinate taxa
S. pumila subsp. pallidefusca, S. pumila subsp. pumila
Name authority (Sw.) P. Beauv. (Poir.) Roem. & Schult.
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