Setaria appendiculata

Setaria chevalieri

Setaria finita

Setaria holstii

Setaria homonyma

Setaria incrassata

Setaria laeta

Setaria lindenbergiana (Mountain bristle grass)

Setaria longiseta

Recorded from Zimbabwe.

Setaria megaphylla

Setaria nigrirostris

Setaria obscura

Setaria orthosticha

Recorded from Zimbabwe.

Setaria petiolata

Recorded from Zimbabwe.

Setaria plicatilis

Setaria pseudaristata

Setaria pumila

Setaria rigida

Setaria sagittifolia

Setaria sphacelata (Common bristle grass)

In KwaZulu-Natal, seeds from this wild grass are harvested in times of famine. They are boiled before grinding, evidently to eliminate toxic substances.

Setaria verticillata (Bur-bristle grass)

The Topnaar people in Namibia harvest the wild seeds of Setaria verticillata, and grind them up for making porridge and the leaves are used by them for weaving hats. In South Africa the seeds are used to produce a malt for beer making.

Setaria woodii

Setaria geniculata (Knotroot bristlegrass, Knotroot foxtail, Yellow bristlegrass)

[=Setaria parviflora]

Native to the Americas.

Setaria italica (Foxtail millet)

Domesticated from the wild Setaria viridis in East Asia more than 7000 years ago, during the Neolithic period. Foxtail millet is nowadays a minor crop in SE Europe, parts of Asia (especially India, China and Japan) and North Africa. In southern Africa it is grown to a minor extent for human consumption, and on the Springbok Flats it is grown commercially for producing bird seed. Different cultivars can have different coloured seeds: white, yellow and red. In southern Africa it has also become naturalised.