Setaria sphacelata

(Schumach.) Stapf & C.E. Hubb.
Common names: African bristlegrass
Introduced
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 558.

Plants perennial; cespitose, rhizomatous, rhizomes stout. Culms 50-150 cm, flattened; nodes glabrous. Sheaths glabrous; blades 15-50 cm long, 4-10 mm wide, flat, rather lax. Panicles 5-25 cm long, 4-8 mm thick (excluding the bristles), densely spicate; bristles 5 or more, 3-6 mm, usually orange to purple. Spikelets 2.5-3 mm, elliptic-oblong. Lower glumes about as long as the spikelets; upper florets staminate; upper glumes Vi-a as long as the spikelets; lower lemmas equaling the upper lemmas; lower paleas equaling the upper paleas, broad; upper lemmas finely and transversely rugose; upper paleas similar to the upper lemmas. 2n = 36, 54.

Discussion

Setaria sphacelata is native to tropical Africa, but it has been found at a few scattered locations in the Flora region, often near a port. Clayton (1979) recognized five varieties of Setaria sphacelata. Those most likely to be introduced into the United States are Setaria sphace¬lata (Schumach.) Stapf & C.E. Hubb. var. sphacelata and S. sphacelata var. aurea (Hochst. ex A. Braun) Clayton, with var. aurea differing from var. sphacelata in having fibrous basal leaf sheaths and upper glumes that are often 3-veined.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Setaria sphacelata"
not penicillate +
anatomy +  and kranz +
James M. Rominger +
(Schumach.) Stapf & C.E. Hubb. +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
divergent +  and parallel +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
membranous +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br />) +
usually linear +  and lanceolate occasionally ovate +
20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br /> (?) +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
spikelike +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
usually orange;purple +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
not developed +
compressed +, ellipsoid +  and subglobose +
sometimes longer +
African bristlegrass +
branched +  and solid +
decumbent +  and erect +
flattened +
50 cm500 mm <br />0.5 m <br /> (150 cm1,500 mm <br />1.5 m <br />) +
Calif. +, Fla. +, Ala. +  and Miss. +
capillary +
germination +
pistillate +  and staminate +
sometimes longer +
compressed +  and terete +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
unequal +
membranous +
uncinate +
bracteate +  and ebracteate +
solid +  and hollow +
cauline +  and basal +
coriaceous +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
not constricted +
indurate +  and membranous +
rarely exceeding the upper lemmas +  and equaling +
complex +  and simple +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
5cm +  and 25cm +
subterranean +
spikelike +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
Introduced +
subsessile +  and short pedicellate +
in triplets +  and paired +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
elliptic-oblong +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
fused +  and free +
red +  and white +
fused +  and free +
dome--shaped +  and triangular +
Gramineae +
Setaria sphacelata +
Setaria subg. Setaria +
species +
membranous +
membranous +  and herbaceous +
not keeled +
reduced +
plant +  and cespitose +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
dioecious +, monoecious +  and synoecious +