# 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.

- **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.

## About

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...

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/e1787677-c50b-49b7-97bc-1471cd206bc0
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48688
- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setaria_pumila
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/422593068/medium.jpeg (Thomas Gyselinck, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.