Setaria verticillata(L.) P.Beauv.

bristly foxtailhooked bristlegrassrough bristlegrass

WFO wfo-0000899661 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Setaria verticillata, photographed by 葉子
fig. a 葉子, CC0 1.0 / 2022-01-02 / obs. 178009607
Setaria verticillata, photographed by Aleksei Baushev
fig. b Aleksei Baushev, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 153752481
Setaria verticillata, photographed by Rafael Medina
fig. c Rafael Medina, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 154535137
Setaria verticillata, photographed by Patrick Hacker
fig. d Patrick Hacker, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 151776905
Setaria verticillata, photographed by chiuluan
fig. e chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 139781830
Setaria verticillata, photographed by 祐
fig. f 祐, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 136919849
Setaria verticillata, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. g Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 139822134
Setaria verticillata, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. h Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 126761535

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 116 botanical countries

Regions where Setaria verticillata is native: Algeria, Angola, Azores, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Senegal, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, China South-Central, Cyprus, Gulf States, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Andaman Is., Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Myanmar, Nepal, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, Albania, Baleares, Belarus, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Krym, NW. Balkan Pen., Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine AlgeriaAngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesChadDjiboutiDR CongoEgyptEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGambiaGhanaIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoLibyaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoTunisiaUgandaWestern SaharaZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanChina South-CentralCyprusGulf StatesInner MongoliaIranIraqKazakhstanKirgizstanKuwaitLebanon-SyriaNorth CaucasusOmanSaudi ArabiaSinaiTadzhikistanTaiwanTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanUzbekistanYemenBangladeshCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MyanmarNepalPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandSouth AustraliaTasmaniaVictoriaWestern AustraliaAlbaniaBelarusBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseFranceGreeceItalyKritiKrymNW. Balkan Pen.PortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine AzoresCape VerdeComorosAndaman Is.Laccadive Is.Nicobar Is.BalearesSardegna
Native distribution of Setaria verticillata, 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
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Libya LBY
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Morocco MOR
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Tunisia TUN
Uganda UGA
Western Sahara WSA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
Cyprus CYP
Gulf States GST
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Kuwait KUW
Lebanon-Syria LBS
North Caucasus NCS
Oman OMA
Saudi Arabia SAU
Sinai SIN
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Uzbekistan UZB
Yemen YEM
Albania ALB EUROPE
Baleares BAL
Belarus BLR
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
France FRA
Greece GRC
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
Krym KRY
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Nicobar Is. NCB
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
South Australia SOA
Tasmania TAS
Victoria VIC
Western Australia WAU

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 49 in flower of 106 examined

Peak flowering in Apr. Each bar is the share of Setaria verticillata 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. 49 of 106 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. 3 months have fewer than 5 examined observations, so no proportion is drawn for them. 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 77 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 ambigua (Guss.) Scribn. & Merr.
  • Chaetochloa verticillata (L.) Scribn.
  • Chaetochloa verticillata var. breviseta (Mutel) Farw.
  • Chamaeraphis italica var. ambigua (Guss.) Kuntze
  • Chamaeraphis italica var. densa Kuntze
  • Chamaeraphis italica var. verticillata (L.) Kuntze
  • Chamaeraphis verticillata (L.) Porter
  • Ixophorus verticillatus (L.) Nash
  • Panicum ambiguum (Guss.) Hausskn.
  • Panicum asperum Lam.
  • Panicum decipiens (F.W.Schultz) E.H.L.Krause
  • Panicum floribundum Willd. ex Spreng.
  • Panicum italicum Ucria
  • Panicum respiciens Hochst. ex Steud.
  • Panicum rude Lam. ex Steud.
  • Panicum verticillatum L.
  • Panicum verticillatum subsp. aparine (Steud.) T.Durand & Schinz
  • Panicum verticillatum var. ambiguum Guss.
  • Panicum verticillatum var. antrorsum A.Braun
  • Panicum verticillatum var. arenosum (Schur) Asch. & Graebn.
  • Panicum verticillatum var. brevisetum Godr.
  • Panicum verticillatum var. coloratum A.Braun ex Asch. & Graebn.
  • Panicum verticillatum var. maior Thunb.
  • Panicum verticillatum var. retrorsum Asch. & Schweinf.

and 53 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.