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• Poaceae Group 8
• Setaria
• Setaria faberi

Setaria faberi — Chinese foxtail

Facts

Chinese foxtail was accidentally introduced from eastern China in the 1920s, and is widely introduced in eastern North America and is expanding its range westwards. It is a conspicuous plant and may reach over 6 feet (2 meters) in height, with nodding, bristly panickles. It is a weed of corn and soybean crops and may severly reduce yield.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther number

  3

  Awn on glume

  the glume has no awn

  Bristles below spikelets

  yes

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is hard and firm

  Floret number

  1–2

  Floret types within spikelet

  there are at least two distinct forms of florets within one spikelet

  Glume awn length

  0 mm

  Glume relative length

  neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets

  Glume shape

  the glume is flat or curved in cross-section

  Glume veins

  • 3
  • 5
  • 7 or more

  Glumes per spikelet

  2

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis hairs

  the inflorescence axis is hairy but not rough or sand-papery feeling

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  the inflorescence axis bends downwards or hangs

  Inflorescence branches

  • the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
  • there are no branch points between the base of the inflorescence axis and the flowers, or they are not obvious

  Inflorescence crowding

  the panicle is somewhat to very congested (crowded), and the branches may not be clearly seen without close inspection

  Inflorescence length

  60–200 mm

  Inflorescence length to width ratio

  3–6.7

  Inflorescence type (general)

  the inflorescence is a spike, or is spike-like, lacking obvious branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes

  Inflorescence width

  20–30 mm

  Inforescence position

  the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem

  Lemma awn base

  NA

  Lemma awn coiled

  NA

  Lemma awn length

  0 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has no awn

  Lemma awn orientation

  NA

  Lemma cross-section

  the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint

  Lemma hairs

  the lemma is hairless between the veins

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma has wrinkles that are oriented across the lemma

  Lemma tip

  the lemma tip is a simple point, with or without an awn (long narrow extension ending in a point)

  Lemma tip shape

  the lemma tip tapers to a broad point (it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip)

  Lemma vein number

  • 1
  • 3
  • 5

  Lower glume length

  0.6–1 mm

  Lower glume relative length

  the lower glume is one third to three quarters as long as the upper glume

  One or more florets

  • there is more than one floret per spikelet
  • there is one floret per spikelet

  Palea length

  2.5–3 mm

  Palea relative length

  palea is one half to fully as long as lemma

  Spikelet axis length

  0 mm

  Spikelet axis tip

  there is an extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet disintegration

  the spikelet breaks off below the glumes

  Spikelet length

  2.5–3 mm

  Spikelet number per node

  0

  Spikelet pedicel

  the spikelets have pedicels

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Tip of glume

  the tip of the glume is not divided (though it may have an awn on it)

  Upper glume length

  1.6–2 mm

  Upper glume relative length

  the upper glume is more than one half as long as the lowest lemma

• Growth form

  Horizontal rooting stem

  no

  Lifespan

  the plant lives only a single year or less

  Rhizomes

  no

  Roots

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Basal leaves

  the plant has few or no leaves coming from the base of the flowering stem

  Leaf auricles

  the leaves do not have auricles

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section, or slightly folded or rolled inwards

  Leaf blade hairs

  • the leaf blade is hairless, but it may have tiny prickles that give it a sand-papery feel
  • the leaf blade is hairy

  Leaf blade length

  15–30 cm

  Leaf blade texture

  the leaf blade is rough and sandpapery

  Leaf blade width

  10–20 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  2–3 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane with fine hairs

  Leaf margin glands

  there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade

  Leaf sheath closed around stem

  the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)

  Leaf sheath hair type

  there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath, but the hairs do not have blisters at their bases

  Leaf sheath hairs

  there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Hairs at nodes

  the stem nodes are hairless or they have very sparse hairs

  Plant height

  50–200 cm

  Stem hairs

  • the stem has hairs on it
  • the stem is nearly to completely hairless

  Stem spacing

  the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae