Ontario Weeds: Yellow foxtail

Table of Contents

1. Name
2. Other Names
3. Family
4. General Description
   • Photos and Pictures
5. Stems and Roots
6. Flowers and Fruit
7. Habitat
8. Similar Species
9. For more information...

Name: Yellow foxtail, Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv.,

Other Names: sétaire glauque, Bottle brush, Bottle grass, Bristle grass, Millet, Pigeon grass, Wild millet, sétaire jaune, foin sauvage, mil sauvage, Setaria lutescens (Weigel) Hubb.

Family: Grass Family (Gramineae)

General Description: Annual, reproducing only by seed.

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Photos and Pictures

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Stems & Roots: In general appearance similar to Green foxtail but is characterized by having a few, prominent, silky, kinky hairs 3-10mm, 1/8-2/5in. long) on the upper surface of the leaf blade just near the stem; ligule a fringe of hair; no auricles; leaf sheaths split, their margins smooth, green or slightly membranous and transparent; stems normally round, but occasionally distinctly flattened; inflorescence a spike 2-10cm (4/5-4in.) long, covered with numerous, yellow to orange bristles with forward-pointing barbs.

Flowers & Fruit: Spikelets ("seeds" or "grains") slightly larger than Green foxtail, more prominently cross-ridged, and yellowish or straw-coloured. Flowers from July to August.

Habitat: Yellow foxtail occurs throughout the agricultural regions of Ontario, having essentially the same distribution as Green foxtail but often being less abundant.

Similar Species: It is distinguished from the other foxtails and, indeed, from all other grasses in Ontario by the prominent silky, kinky hairs on the upper surfaces of the leaf blades just near the stem.

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For more information...

... on weed identification, order OMAFRA Publication 505: Ontario Weeds

... on weed control, order OMAFRA Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control

...on weeds in field crops, contact Mike Cowbrough (mike.cowbrough@omafra.gov.on.ca), Weed Management Specialist (Field Crops), OMAFRA, Guelph
...on weeds in horticultural crops, contact Leslie Huffman (leslie.huffman@omafra.gov.on.ca), Weed Management Specialist (Hort Crops), OMAFRA. Harrow

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