''Setaria vulpiseta'' is a species of
grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...
known by the common name plains bristlegrass.
It is native to North America, where it occurs in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
to
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
to
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
in the United States and northern and central Mexico.
[''Setaria vulpiseta''.]
USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet.
This perennial grass grows up to 3
[ to 4 feet tall.][''Setaria vulpiseta''.]
USDA NRCS Plant Guide. It is yellow in color when mature. The hairy leaves are up to 10 inches long and have a ligule of hairs. The inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...
is up to 5 inches long and is very narrow.[
This grass is a common ]forage
Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used ...
in the American southwest. It is good grazing for livestock. The seed provides food for wildlife.[ Its natural habitat is dry ]rangeland
Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, sava ...
as well as low plains that receive flooding.[
]
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7456365
vulpiseta