Yellow Foxtail
Setaria pumila · Warm-season, Annual, C4
Grass Family
Poaceae, subfamily Panicoideae, tribe Paniceae
Grass Category
Invasive/Weed Grass, Pasture/Forage Grass
Variety / Cultivar
Wild type (no specific named agricultural cultivars for turf use)
Hardiness Zones
Thrives across USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 10 as a warm-season summer annual.
About This Grass
An annual grass forming upright to spreading clumps, growing from 1 to 3 feet tall when unmowed. Features bright green to yellowish-green foliage that turns brownish or purple-tinged at maturity. Notable for its distinctive, dense, cylindrical, foxtail-like spike seed heads with yellowish-brown bristles.
Blade Characteristics
Blades are medium-coarse in width (4-10 mm), flat, smooth on the upper surface, often with distinctive long hairs near the collar on the upper surface. Vernation is rolled in the bud. Ligule is a fringe of hairs. Auricles are absent.
Root System
Fibrous, shallow to moderately deep root system typical of annual grasses. Establishes rapidly from seed in disturbed soils, lacks rhizomes or stolons.
Growing Information
Origin Region
Native to Europe and Asia; widely naturalized globally in temperate and subtropical regions.
Growth Habit
Bunch-type (clump-forming) annual grass, reproducing exclusively by seed.
Sunlight & Water Needs
Requires full sun and open areas. Moderate to low drought tolerance once established, though seedlings need adequate moisture. Prefers disturbed, fertile soils but tolerates poor conditions well.
Mowing & Maintenance
High maintenance if treated as a weed in lawns, requiring frequent mowing below seed head height to prevent reproduction, or pre-emergent herbicides. Not intentionally maintained as a turfgrass.
Special Characteristics
Low wear tolerance as an annual weed, highly prolific seed producer, competitive in thin turf or agricultural fields, no significant disease or insect resistance bred into it.
Ecological Information
Introduced species in North America, often considered an agricultural and turf weed. Provides minor forage value for livestock when young, and seeds are consumed by various birds and small mammals.