yellow foxtail
Setaria pumila
The upward-pointing barbs on the bristles act like a one-way latch, helping the seeds hitch a ride on passing animal fur.
- Scientific name
- Setaria pumila
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Liliopsida › Poales › Poaceae › Setaria
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Disturbed soils, roadsides, pastures, cultivated fields, and lawns.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis, absorbing water and mineral nutrients from soil).
- Range
- North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
- Size
- 20 cm to 130 cm tall
- Lifespan
- Annual (less than 1 year)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Agricultural herbicides, clean cultivation, and canopy closure from forest succession.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to humans, but the barbed seed heads (foxtails) pose a physical hazard to pets, especially dogs. The seeds can burrow into paws, ears, eyes, and skin, causing severe infection. Keep pets on a leash away from dry patches. If a pet contacts them, brush their fur immediately; seek veterinary help if a seed becomes embedded.
Setaria pumila is a species of grass known by many common names, including yellow foxtail , yellow bristle-grass , pigeon grass , and cattail grass . It is native to Europe, but it is known throughout the world as a common weed. It grows in lawns, sidewalks, roadsides, cultivated fields, and many other places. This annual grass grows 20 centimeters to well over a meter in height, its mostly hairless stems ranging from green to purple-tinged in color. The leaf...
Photo: Thomas Gyselinck, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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