Setaria viridis

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Setaria viridis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Setaria
Species: S. viridis
Binomial name
Setaria viridis
(L.) P.Beauv.

Setaria viridis is a species of grass known by many common names, including green foxtail and green bristlegrass. It is native to Eurasia, but it is known on most continents as an introduced species and is closely related to Setaria faberi, a noxious weed. It is a hardy grass which grows in many types of urban, cultivated, and disturbed habitat, including vacant lots, sidewalks, railroads, lawns, and at the margins of fields. It is the wild antecedent of the crop foxtail millet.

This is an annual grass with decumbent or erect stems growing up to a meter long, and known to reach two meters or more at times. The leaf blades are up to 40 centimeters long and 2.5 wide and glabrous. The inflorescence is a dense, compact, spikelike panicle up to 20 centimeters long, growing erect or sometimes nodding at the tip only. Spikelets are 1.8 - 2.2 mm long. Each is subtended by up to three stiff bristles. Its fertile lemmas are finely cross-wrinkled.

Setaria viridis is often confused with S. faberi, (Chinese or Giant Foxtail), which has a sparse, soft hairs on the leaves and a nodding inflorescence. Setaria viridis is closely related to S. italica (Foxtail Millet), which has larger spikelets about 3 mm long and usually smooth, shiny upper lemmas. Foxtail Millet was cultivated in China by 2700 B.C. and during the Stone Age in Europe.

S. viridis has been proposed as a model to study C4 photosynthesis and related bioenergy grasses.[1][2] S. viridis has a short life cycle, is transformable and is currently being sequenced. Genetic resources are currently being developed by a number of groups.

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References

  1. ↑ Brutnell, T; et al. (2010). "Setaria viridis: a model for C4 photosynthesis". Plant Cell 22: 2537–44. doi:10.1105/tpc.110.075309. PMC 2947182. PMID 20693355. 
  2. ↑ Jiang, Hui; Barbier, Hugues; Brutnell, Thomas (2013). "Methods for Performing Crosses in Setaria viridis, a New Model System for the Grasses". Journal of Visualized Experiments (80). doi:10.3791/50527. ISSN 1940-087X. 

External links

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