Setaria barbata Kunth., Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: bristly foxtail grass, bristly foxtailgrass, corn grass, East Indies foxtailgrass, Mary grass

French: grosse traînasse, herbe bambou, herbe bassine, herbe tourterelle

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Annual, the culms slender, up to 60 cm high; sheaths hairy, the leaf blades narrow, lanceolate, 7.5-25 cm long, about 4 cm broad, the branches ascending, 0.5-2.5 cm long; spikelets alike, oblong to ovate, 2.5-3 mm long, 2-flowered, the upper floret perfect, awnless, each usually subtended by a single bristle about 10 mm long"  (Smith, 1979; pp. 350-351).

"Habit: Annual; caespitose. Culms 10-150(-200) cm long; without nodal roots, or rooting from lower nodes. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades linear, or lanceolate; plicate; 5-30 cm long; 5-20(-30) mm wide; dark green. Inflorescence: Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; elliptic; 3-25 cm long; contracted about primary branches. Primary panicle branches bearing spikelets almost to the base; sterile at the tips. Panicle branches pubescent, or pilose. Spikelets subtended by an involucre. Fertile spikelets pedicelled; 1 in the cluster. Involucre composed of bristles; 1-15 mm long. Involucral bristles persistent; 6-8 in principal whorl; flexible; antrorsely scaberulous; glabrous. Fertile spikelets: Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; dorsally compressed; compressed slightly; 2-3.2 mm long; falling entire. Glumes: Glumes shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.25-0.33 times length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 3-5 -veined. Lower glume apex obtuse. Upper glume elliptic; 0.66-0.8 times length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 5-9 -veined. Upper glume apex obtuse. Florets: Basal sterile florets male, or barren; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; 1 times length of spikelet; membranous; 7-veined; without grooves, or sulcate; obtuse. Fertile lemma ovate; dorsally compressed; gibbous; 2-3 mm long; indurate; without keel. Lemma surface rugose. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex apiculate. Palea involute; indurate. Palea surface rugose" (GrassBase).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "a moderately common grass occurring from sea level to about 200 m, often sprawling or scrambling on shrubs in thickets, forest clearings, plantations, and along roadsides in damp, shaded places" (Smith, 1979; pp. 350-351). In New Caledonia, "mauvaise herbe introduite depuis longtemps mais peu commune" (MacKee, 1994; p. 62).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical Asia, Africa and America (Smith, 1979; pp. 350-351).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Koro Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 350) Voucher cited: DA 988
Fiji Fiji Islands	Ovalau Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 350) Voucher cited: DA 1365
Fiji Fiji Islands	Taveuni Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 350) Vouchers cited: Smith 8124, DA 8939, DA 8873, DA 8902
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 350) Vouchers cited: DA 3660, DA 5691, DA 9631
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Mbalavu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 350) Vouchers cited: Smith 1422, DA 10209
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 350) Vouchers cited: Degener & Ordonez 13515, DA 8676, DA 8977
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Setaria aff. barbata. Voucher cited: J. Florence (legit J.-C. Janicaud) 2809 (PAP) Adventice
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 62) Voucher cited: Baudouin s.n. s.loc.
New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) New Guinea Island	New Guinea Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 332)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Western Samoa Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 96)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 109)
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 96)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 192)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 79) Naturalised
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Frégate Island		Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. (1983) (p. 58) Vouchers cited: Procter 4162, Robertson 2642

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) Naturalized

Additional information:
Additional online information about Setaria barbata is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Setaria barbata as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Setaria barbata may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Clayton, W. D./Harman, K. T./Williamson, H. 2002. World Grass Species: Descriptions, Identification, and Information Retrieval (online resource).

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar. 1980. Grass weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 142 pp. + plates.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McIntyre, Guy. 1991. Weeds of sugar cane in Mauritius, their description and control. Mauritius Sugar Industry Reseach Institute. 151 pp.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. 1983. Vegetation of Frégate Island, Seychelles. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.