Setaria pumila subsp. pumila

Yellow bristle grass, Yellow Bristle Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Yellow bristle grass is a naturalized annual found in western Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, California Rocky Formations, northern and central Sierra Nevada, southern Sierra Nevada foothills, Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, southern Coast Ranges, southern California, San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, eastern Sierra Nevada, and southwestern Mojave Desert at elevations below 1,680 meters in moist sites and disturbed areas. Flowering from June to October, this plant produces pale yellow to green-tinged flowers in dense, bristly spikes 2 to 6 centimeters long. Growing with erect stems 20 to 130 centimeters tall, it spreads quickly in open, disturbed landscapes. Its leaves are long and narrow, 5 to 30 centimeters in length and 3 to 10 millimeters wide, with smooth upper surfaces and short, barely noticeable ligules. The plant's distinctive bristly flower clusters feature 4 to 12 stiff bristles surrounding each small, greenish-yellow spikelet.

Habitat: Generally moist sites, disturbed areas, streambanks

Bloom period: Jun-Oct

Elevation: < 1680 m

Bioregions: w KR, NCoRO, CaRF, n&ampc SN, s SNF, GV, SnFrB, SCoRO, SCo, SnBr, PR, SNE, sw DMoj (exc DMtns)

California counties: Alameda, Marin, Butte, Tehama, Yolo, San Diego, Sutter, Mariposa, Fresno

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