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Green foxtail (Setaria viridis)

Green foxtail Common Names: Green bristlegrass

Description:

Habit: Tufted annual grass with many culms, erect and growing up to 70 cm tall.

Leaves: Alternate, 1.5-12 in. long, lance-linear, flat, hairless, smooth to slightly rough, 4-25 mm. wide depending on variety, sheath is open, green in color, hairless except for a fringe of hairs along edge, Ligule is a fringe of hairs 1-2 mm. long. Hairless and green to purplish nodes.

Stems: Smooth, multiple and branching from base, erect to ascending, lower stem often prostrate then rising at lower node, does not root at the node. Forms loose to dense clumps.

Flowers: Singular, densely packed, cylindrical, spike-like panicle at the tip of the stem. Straight to slightly nodding and 1-3 in. long or strongly noddings and 3-8 in. long depending on variety. Clusters of 2-6 spikelets that are densely crowded on short branches along panicle. Spikelets are flat on one side, oval-elliptic, 1.5-2.5 mm. long. Bristles are green or purple in color, soft with minute, upward pointing barbs.

Fruit and seeds: Glumes and sterile lemma become tan in color and papery as they mature. Lemma and palea harden and turn dark brown in color. Entire spikelet drops when mature leaving bristles behind.

Habitat: Native to Europe. Can be found growing in cultivated fields, gardens, waste places, distrubed areas and roadsides.

Reproduction: Only by seed. Seeds are capable of germinating as soon as they are shed by the plant.

Similar species: Japanese bristlegrass (), Yellow foxtail ()

Monitoring and rapid response: Can be controlled by normal tillage practices. Dense planting and increased nutrients can also reduce populations. Susceptible to a wide variety of standard use herbicided recommended for annual grass control such as glyphosate. There are some populations that have become herbicide resistant.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from Minnesota Wildflowers and CABI - Invasive Species Compendium.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).


Common Name:

Green foxtail

Scientific Name:

Setaria viridis

Family:

Poaceae
(Grass)

Duration:

Annual

Habit:

Grasses

USDA Symbol:

SEVI4