Green foxtail
August 7, 2015
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EmailSetaria viridis (L.) Beauv.
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.
Green foxtail collar region.
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.
Green foxtail seedhead.
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.
Giant foxtail collar region (left), seedhead (middle), and upper leaf surface (right).
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.
Yellow foxtail seedling (left), collar region (middle), and seedhead (right).
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