Setaria viridis (L.) P. Beauv.

Green foxtail, green bristlegrass

About plant names...

Green foxtail is native to Europe and Asia, but naturalized and widespread in North America now. Eventually this grass was cultivated to become the food crop foxtail millet.

Identification: Plants grow in clumps with erect stems up to 3' (1 m) high. Leaf blades are medium dull green, rough but hairless (except sometimes near the edges), and up to 16" (40 cm) × ⅞" (2.5 cm). Flowerheads are a green panicle up to 6" (15 cm) in length and ¼-⅝" (8.5-16 mm) around, usually erect, sometimes slightly nodding.

9/13/2010 · Burge’s Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 14 × 9" (35 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain

8/27/2017 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Self-guided Nature Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4½ × 3½" (12 × 9.2 cm)

Here are the foxtails:

	Setaria faberi	Setaria pumila	You are here Setaria viridis
Common Name	giant foxtail	yellow foxtail	green foxtail
Plant	Plants are 24-60" (60-152 cm) tall, the largest foxtails, with multiple stems. The grass blades alternate, reaching up to 15" (38 cm) long and ¾" (1.9 cm) wide.	Plants grow in clumps to heights of 3' (1 m).	Plants grow in clumps with erect stems up to 3' (1 m) high.
Flowers	Flowerheads are up to 7" (17 cm) long. Bristly and drooping under its own weight, they are green to light brown or purplish over time.	¾-6" (2-15 cm) long × ⅜" (1 cm) in diameter, erect. The flowerhead is made up of spikelets with bristles that appear yellow at maturity. It blooms from June through December.	Green panicle up to 6" (15 cm) in length and ¼-⅝" (8.5-16 mm) around, usually erect, sometimes slightly nodding.
Leaves	Not very stiff, often drooping. Upper leaf surfaces usually have scattered fine, stiff, bristled hairs, but they may also be smooth. Leaf blade edges have tiny teeth that make them feel rough. At the base of each grass blade, just above where it connects to the stem, there is a ringlike tuft of white hairs up to ⅛" (3 mm) long.	Grass blades are flat or sometimes "keeled," 4-12" (10-30 cm) by ⅛-½" (5-12 mm). Just above the point where the grass blade attaches to the stem, there are a lot of small hairs (ligule), on the inside of the blade.	Leaf blades are medium dull green, rough but hairless (except sometimes near the edges), and up to 16" (40 cm) × ⅞" (2.5 cm).
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Meadows, fields, landfills, mined land, construction sites, vacant lots, yard boundaries, gardens, railroads, roadsides, and waste land.	Roadsides, ditch banks, fields, pastures, cropland, orchards, vineyards, gardens, turf, disturbed sites.	Margins of woods, upland prairies, streambanks, pond margins, pastures, fields, lawns, cultivated areas, disturbed sites, roadsides, railroads.
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild
Occurrence	Common, sometimes invasive.	Fairly common	Common

Online References:

The Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide

Missouriplants.com

Illinois Wildflowers

Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

8/27/2017 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Self-guided Nature Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

9/1/2014 · New Mex­ico
≈ 7 × 10" (16 × 25 cm)

9/1/2014 · New Mex­ico
≈ 7 × 4½" (16 × 11 cm)

8/27/2017 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Self-guided Nature Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 6 × 4½" (15 × 12 cm)

Setaria viridis description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 11 Jul 2023.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

8/27/2017 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Self-guided Nature Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 11 cm)

9/13/2010 · Burge’s Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 6" (17 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

8/12/2009 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 10 × 7" (24 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

Range:

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