Publication: Ess. Agrostogr. 51, 170, 178 1812.

Origin: Introduced from China

Herbarium search: CPNWH

Notes: FNA24: "Setaria italica was cultivated in China as early as 2700 B.C. and during the Stone Age in Europe. Nowdays it is grown mostly for hay or as a pasture grass, but it has been used as a substitute for rice in northern China. It is sometimes cultivated in North America, but it is better known as a weed in moist ditches, mostly in the northeastern United States. It is closely related to S. viridis, differing in the longer (3 mm) spikelets and smooth, shiny upper florets which readily disarticulate above the lower florets. It exhibits considerable variation in seed and bristle color, bristle length, and panicle shape. Using these characters, Hubbard (1915) recognized several infraspecific taxa; they are not treated here."

Last updated 1/4/2024 by David Giblin.