Southwestern Bristlegrass, Foxtail Grass, Scheele’s Bristlegrass

Setaria scheelei

Poaceae


Description

Warm season, perennial, bunchgrass.  Erect culms to 125 cm with pilose nodes; thin, broad, pubescent blades with a prominent mid-rib.  Blades (15-30 cm by 5-18 mm) taper to a sharp tip.  Most notable feature is the single inflorescence, 15-35 cm, that looks like a bottlebrush, often tapering.  It has contracted ascending branches with each spikelet subtended by usually one bristle which is a rudimentary branch not an awn.  Spikelets distinctively ovate.

Habitat

Sandy loam soils; shade tolerant; particularly abundant in the limestone canyons of the Edwards Plateau

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