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green bristle grass, green foxtail, setaire verte

Habit Plants annual.
Culms

20-250 cm;

nodes glabrous.

Sheaths

glabrous, sometimes scabridu-lous, margins ciliate distally;

ligules 1-2 mm, ciliate;

blades to 20 cm long, 4-25 mm wide, flat, scabrous or smooth, glabrous.

Panicles

3-20 cm, densely spicate, nodding only from near the apices;

rachises hispid and villous;

bristles 1-3, 5-10 mm, antrorsely scabrous, usually green, rarely purple.

Spikelets

1.8-2.2 mm.

Lower glumes

about as long as the spikelets, triangular-ovate, 3-veined;

upper glumes nearly equaling the upper lemmas, elliptical, 5-6-veined;

lower lemmas slightly exceeding the upper lemmas, 5-veined;

lower paleas about as long as the lower lemmas, hyaline;

upper lemmas very finely and transversely rugose, pale green, 5-6-veined;

upper paleas similar to the upper lemmas.

2n

= 18.

Setaria viridis

Distribution
from FNA
AK; 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; AB; BC; LB; MB; NB; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Setaria viridis resembles S. italica but differs in its shorter spikelets and rugose upper florets, and mode of disarticulation. It is also a more aggressive weed. It is native to Eurasia but is now widespread in warm temperate regions of the world.

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

Key
1. Culms 100-250 cm tall; blades 10-25 mm wide; panicles 10-20 cm long
var. major
1. Culms 20-100 cm tall; blades 4-12 mm wide; panicles 3-8 cm long
var. viridis
Source FNA vol. 25, p. 554.
Parent taxa 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. setosa, S. sphacelata, S. texana, S. verticillata, S. verticilliformis, S. villosissima
Subordinate taxa
S. viridis var. major, S. viridis var. viridis
Name authority (L.) P. Beauv.
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