Is it a native?

Whorled Pigeon-grass - introduced (*Setaria verticillata)

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lemma flowers setaria lemma

Native to temperate northern hemisphere. Annual. C4.

Family. Poaceae (Grass family).

Whorled Pigeon-grass is common in disturbed areas.

Identification:

There are one to four bristles growing from the base of each spikelet. The bristles are longer than the spikelets, and barbed with upward directed teeth.

The summer growth, the bristles from the base with upward-pointing teeth, and the dense cylindrical flower clusters are distinctive.

Setaria: from seta, a bristle. verticillata whorled i.e. arranged in one or more rings around the axis.

1: Dense cluster of spikelets. Bristles rise from the base of the spikelets. 2. Leaves are broad and green. 3. Growing in a pavement crack. Barker St, Castlemaine. 4. Close-up of several spikelets.