Setaria

Setaria is a genus of grasses, family Poaceae, comprising over 100 species distributed across tropical and temperate regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America, commonly called foxtail grasses or bristle grasses. The genus name derives from the Latin seta, meaning bristle or hair, referencing its bristly spikelets; flower heads are cylindrical and long-haired, tending to droop when ripe, with seeds less than six millimeters long. Setaria italica, foxtail millet, is a domesticated staple crop; Setaria pumila is cultivated in India; Setaria viridis, green foxtail, is widely used as a genetic model system for studying monocots and bioenergy grasses; and Setaria palmifolia, highland pitpit, is cultivated as a green vegetable in Papua New Guinea.