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''Setaria'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family. The name is derived from the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word ''seta'', meaning "bristle" or "hair", which refers to the bristly spikelets. The genus includes over 100 species distributed in many tropical and temperate regions around the world,Aliscioni, S., et al
An overview of the genus ''Setaria'' (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae) in the Old World: Systematic revision and phylogenetic approach.
Abstract. Botany 2004. Salt Lake City. August 3, 2004. and members are commonly known as foxtail or bristle grasses.


Description

The grass is topped by a cylindrical long-haired head, which tend to droop when ripe. The seeds are less than in length.


Species

,
Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...
accepted the following species: ; Formerly included Numerous species were once considered members of ''Setaria'' but have since been reassigned to the genera '' Brachiaria'', '' Dissochondrus'', '' Echinochloa'', '' Holcolemma'', '' Ixophorus'', '' Oplismenus'', '' Panicum'', '' Pennisetum'', '' Pseudoraphis'', '' Setariopsis'', and '' Urochloa''.


Uses

The grains can be eaten raw, though are hard and can be bitter; boiling can reduce both of these properties. Several species have been domesticated and used as staple crops throughout history: foxtail millet (''S. italica''), korali ('' S. pumila'') in India, and, before the full domestication of
maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
, '' Setaria macrostachya'' in Mexico. Several species are still cultivated today as food or as animal fodder, such as foxtail millet and korali ('' S. pumila''), while others are considered invasive weeds. ''S. italica'' and '' S. viridis'' are being developed as genetic model systems for the study of monocots and bioenergy grasses. Other species that have been cultivated as crops include '' S. palmifolia'' (highland pitpit) of
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
, where it is cultivated as a green vegetable; '' S. parviflora'' (knot-root foxtail), historically cultivated in
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...
; and '' S. sphacelata'' (African bristle grass) of Sudan, a "lost millet" of
Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...
.


See also

* Hendrik de Wit, a botanist who studied ''Setaria''


References


External links


''Setaria''.
California Department of Food and Agriculture. {{Authority control Poaceae genera Grasses of Africa Grasses of Asia Grasses of Europe Grasses of North America Grasses of Oceania Grasses of South America Panicoideae Taxa named by Palisot de Beauvois Taxonomy articles created by Polbot