''Setaria viridis'' is a species of
grass
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...
known by many
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
s, including green foxtail,
[ green bristlegrass,][ and wild foxtail millet.][ It is sometimes considered a ]subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
of ''Setaria italica
Foxtail millet, scientific name ''Setaria italica'' (synonym ''Panicum italicum'' L.), is an annual grass grown for human food. It is the second-most widely planted species of millet, and the most grown millet species in Asia. The oldest evidenc ...
''.introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
and is closely related to '' Setaria faberi'', a noxious weed
A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is harmful to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or lives ...
. It is a hardy grass which grows in many types of urban, cultivated, and disturbed habitat, including vacant lots, sidewalks, railroads, lawns, and at the margins of fields. It is the wild
Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to:
Common meanings
* Wilderness, a wild natural environment
* Wildlife, an undomesticated organism
* Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed
Art, media and entertainment Film and television
* ''Wild ...
antecedent of the crop foxtail millet
Foxtail millet, scientific name ''Setaria italica'' (synonym ''Panicum italicum'' L.), is an annual grass grown for human food. It is the second-most widely planted species of millet, and the most grown millet species in Asia. The oldest evidenc ...
.
This is an annual grass with decumbent or erect stems growing up to a meter long, and known to reach two meters or more at times. The leaf blades are up to 40 centimeters long and 2.5 wide and glabrous. The inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
is a dense, compact, spikelike panicle
In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...
up to 20 centimeters long, growing erect or sometimes nodding at the tip only. Spikelets are 1.8–2.2 mm long. Each is subtended by up to three stiff bristles. Its fertile lemmas are finely cross-wrinkled.
''Setaria viridis'' is often confused with ''S. faberi,'' (Chinese or Giant Foxtail), which has sparse, soft hairs on the leaves and a nodding inflorescence. ''Setaria viridis'' is closely related to ''S. italica'' (Foxtail Millet), which has larger spikelets about 3 mm long and usually smooth, shiny upper lemmas. Foxtail Millet was cultivated in China by 2700 BC and during the Stone Age in Europe.
''Setaria viridis'' has been proposed as a model to study C4 photosynthesis
carbon fixation or the Hatch–Slack pathway is one of three known photosynthetic processes of carbon fixation in plants. It owes the names to the 1960s discovery by Marshall Davidson Hatch and Charles Roger Slack.
fixation is an addition ...
and related bioenergy grasses.Genetic resources
Genetic resources are genetic material of actual or potential value, where genetic material means any material of plant, animal, microbial genetics, microbial or other origin containing functional units of heredity.
Genetic resources is one of the ...
are currently being developed by a number of groups. A method to break the prolonged seed dormancy
Seed dormancy is an evolutionary adaptation that prevents seeds from germinating during unsuitable ecological conditions that would typically lead to a low probability of seedling survival. Dormant seeds do not germinate in a specified period of ...
has been discovered recently and all these could contribute towards making ''S. viridis'' a choice monocot
Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one Embryo#Plant embryos, embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but ...
genetic model system.
References
External links
*
Jepson Manual Treatment
USDA Plants Profile
Grass Manual Treatment
Washington Burke Museum
Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q163052
viridis
Grasses of Asia
Grasses of Europe
Taxa named by Palisot de Beauvois