Setaria adhaerens

Bur bristle grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Bur bristle grass is a naturalized annual grass found in the San Joaquin Valley and Coachella Valley in disturbed areas at elevations below 130 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces pale green to tan bristled spikelets in compact clusters 2 to 6 centimeters long. Growing with slender stems 25 to 60 centimeters tall, it spreads readily in open ground. Its leaves are 5 to 10 millimeters wide, up to 10 centimeters long, with sparse hairs on the underside and a small ligule 1 to 2 millimeters long. The grass produces distinctive bur-like bristles, with one bristle emerging from each spikelet.

Habitat: Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: < 130 m

Bioregions: SnJV, DSon (Coachella Valley)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.