Green foxtail – Setaria viridis
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EmailSetaria viridis (L.) Beauv.
Poaceae (Grass family)
MI Status
Non-native
Life cycle
Erect summer annual.
Leaves
Leaves are hairless, rough, rolled in the bud, and up to 12 inches long. Leaf sheaths are hairless except for short hairs along the margin.
Ligule
Hairy.
Stems
Erect, mostly 3-foot-tall stems are branched and clump-forming at the base. Stems are usually round but are occasionally flattened in cross-section.
Flowers and fruit
The seedhead is a dense, cylinder-shaped, foxtail-like panicle with green to purple bristles. Usually, erect to slightly nodding seedheads are capable of producing prolific amounts of oval to egg-shaped, yellowish-brown seeds.
Reproduction
Seeds.
Similar weeds
Giant foxtail (S. faberi Herrm.)
Differs by having a larger, up to 7-foot-tall stature, leaves with numerous short hairs on the upper surface, and longer, highly nodding panicles.
Yellow foxtail [S. glauca (L.) Beauv.]
Differs by having long, wispy hairs on the upper leaf surface near the stem, a panicle with yellowish-brown bristles, and a yellow-to-light-brown seedhead at maturity.
