Taxon: Setaria barbata (Lam.) Kunth

Summary

Genus:

Setaria

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Panicoideae

Tribe:

Paniceae

Subtribe:

Cenchrinae

Nomen number:

33802

Place of publication:

Révis. gramin. 1:47. 1829

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/681982

Verified:

05/11/1996 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

4 (1 active, 1 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Panicum barbatum Lam.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Chaetochloa barbata (Lam.) Hitchc. & Chase

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Panicum costatum Roxb.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Kellogg, E. A. et al. 2009. A phylogeny of Setaria (Poaceae, Panicoideae, Paniceae) and related genera based on the chloroplast gene ndhF. Int. J. Pl. Sci. 170:117-131. DOI: 10.1086/593043. Note: included two samples of Setaria barbata; it clustered with other species previously recognized in section Ptychophyllum
Kellogg, E. A. et al. 2020. Checklist of the grasses of India. PhytoKeys 163:271-272. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.163.38393. Note: perennial
Lazarides, M. 1980. The tropical grasses of Southeast Asia
Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Veldkamp, J. F. 1994. Miscellaneous notes on southeast Asian Gramineae: 9. Setaria and Paspalidium. Blumea 39:375.
Veldkamp, J. F. 1997. pers. comm. Note: re. common names

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	bristly foxtail grass	1	Veldkamp, J. F. 1997. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
English	corn grass	1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English	Mary grass	1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya		Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania		Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda		Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique		Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Burkina Faso
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Côte D'Ivoire		Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Ghana		Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mali
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria		Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Senegal		Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Sierra Leone
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Togo
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon		Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo		Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Equatorial Guinea		Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Madagascar
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Mauritius
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India		Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka	probably introd.	Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Indochina
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia		Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines		Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Singapore
4	Naturalized				widely natzd. in tropics & subtropics

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Sudan
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Burkina Faso, Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar, Mauritius

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Sri Lanka (probably introd.)
INDO-CHINA: Indochina, Myanmar
MALESIA: Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore

Naturalized (widely natzd. in tropics & subtropics)

Reference(s)

Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Morrone, O. et al. 2014. Revision of the Old World species of Setaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Paniceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 96:28-31. Note: annual
Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Animal food	forage	Veldkamp, J. F. 1994. Miscellaneous notes on southeast Asian Gramineae: 9. Setaria and Paspalidium. Blumea 39:375.
Weed		CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Weed		Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=33802. Accessed 14 April 2026.