''Setaria megaphylla'', the broad-leaved bristle grass, big-leaf bristle grass,
ribbon bristle grass,
[ or bigleaf bristlegrass, is native to south-eastern ]Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. It is also cultivated, and it has naturalized
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
outside its native range, for example, in Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
in the United States.[
It may be found in glades in forested areas and along rivers or streams. It can grow to more than 2 metres tall and has broad dark green leaves and hairy ]leaf sheath
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...
s. Many kinds of birds, such as finch
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
es and canaries, eat the seeds.[''Setaria megaphylla''.]
South African National Biodiversity Institute.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7456363
megaphylla
Grasses of Africa
Flora of East Tropical Africa
Flora of South Tropical Africa
Flora of Southern Africa
Flora of West Tropical Africa
Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa
Grasses of South Africa