Setaria pumila(Poir.) Roem. & Schult.

yellow foxtail

WFO wfo-0000899491 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Setaria pumila, photographed by Saryu Mae 前 朝琉
fig. a Saryu Mae 前 朝琉, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-04-16 / obs. 189177014

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 131 botanical countries

Regions where Setaria pumila is native: Algeria, Angola, Azores, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Madeira, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Altay, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Chita, Cyprus, Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Japan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, Manchuria, Nansei-shoto, North Caucasus, Oman, Palestine, Primorye, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Xinjiang, Yemen, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Albania, Austria, Baleares, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, East European Russia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Northwest European Russia, NW. Balkan Pen., Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine AlgeriaAngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCentral African RepublicChadDjiboutiDR CongoEgyptEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoLibyaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoTunisiaUgandaZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanAltayBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastChitaCyprusHainanInner MongoliaJapanKrasnoyarskKuwaitLebanon-SyriaManchuriaNorth CaucasusOmanPalestinePrimoryeSaudi ArabiaSinaiTadzhikistanTaiwanTibetTranscaucasusXinjiangYemenAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaEast European RussiaFranceGreeceHungaryItalyKritiKrymNorthwest European RussiaNW. Balkan Pen.PortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine AzoresCanary Is.Cape VerdeMadeiraMauritiusRéunionKoreaNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.BalearesSardegna
Native distribution of Setaria pumila, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Angola ANG
Azores AZO
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Canary Is. CNY
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Libya LBY
Madagascar MDG
Madeira MDR
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Morocco MOR
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Tunisia TUN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Chita CTA
Cyprus CYP
Hainan CHH
Inner Mongolia CHI
Japan JAP
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuwait KUW
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Manchuria CHM
Nansei-shoto NNS
North Caucasus NCS
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Primorye PRM
Saudi Arabia SAU
Sinai SIN
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Xinjiang CHX
Yemen YEM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baleares BAL
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
East European Russia RUE
France FRA
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
Krym KRY
Northwest European Russia RUW
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR

Not drawn on the map: Socotra. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Flowering 128 in flower of 514 examined

Proportion of examined Setaria pumila in flower, by month
Month In flower Examined Share 95% interval
Jan 3 10 30% 11% to 60%
Feb 6 6 100% 61% to 100%
Mar 4 7 57% 25% to 84%
Apr 2 7 29% 8% to 64%
May 2 3 too few examined
Jun 6 9 67% 35% to 88%
Jul 18 41 44% 30% to 59%
Aug 49 167 29% 23% to 37%
Sep 26 160 16% 11% to 23%
Oct 8 84 10% 5% to 18%
Nov 2 13 15% 4% to 42%
Dec 2 7 29% 8% to 64%

Peak flowering in Feb. Each bar is the share of Setaria pumila observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 128 of 514 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. One month has fewer than 5 examined observations, so no proportion is drawn for it. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 64 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Chaetochloa glauca var. purpurea Farw.
  • Chaetochloa lutescens var. longispica Honda
  • Panicum flavescens Moench
  • Panicum glaucum var. elongatum Pers.
  • Panicum glaucum var. flavescens Elliott
  • Panicum glaucum var. humifusum Lej.
  • Panicum glaucum var. laevigatum Torr.
  • Panicum glaucum var. prostrata Bréb.
  • Panicum glaucum var. pumilum (Poir.) Asch. & Graebn.
  • Panicum imberbe var. pumilum (Poir.) Nees
  • Panicum lutescens f. pumilum Poir.
  • Panicum luteum Gueldenst.
  • Panicum pallidifuscum Schumach.
  • Panicum pumilum Poir.
  • Panicum rubiginosum Steud.
  • Pennisetum helvolum R.Br.
  • Setaria aurea var. penicillata A.Chev.
  • Setaria aurea var. rubiginosa (Steud.) Peter
  • Setaria auricoma Link ex Loudon
  • Setaria boninensis Nakai
  • Setaria breviglumis St.-Lag.
  • Setaria dasyura Schlecht.
  • Setaria erythraeae Mattei
  • Setaria glauca f. abyssinica Pilg.

and 40 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.