Foxtail millet

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Foxtail millet

Foxtail millet spikelets

Foxtail millet

Foxtail millet

Foxtail millet leaves

Foxtail millet inflorescence

Foxtail millet habit

Morphology

Culm

Erect or ascending, simple or branched at base, slender but stout, hollow, nearly glabrous, somewhat waxy, rough below inflorescence, nodes often flattened-hairy.

Blades

Broad, flat, usually erect or ascending, lanceolate, 8 to 16 inches long, .25 to 1.2 inch wide, glabrous to scabrous; margins rough; tips tapering to sharp points.

Sheath

Overlapping, margins fringed, often pubescent at collar.

Ligule

Fringe of hairs from short membranous base.

Inflorescence

Panicle, large, heavy, dense, cylindrical to lobed, sometimes interrupted at base, erect or often nodding, 3 to 8 inches long, .5 to 2 inches thick (including bristles), purplish, yellowish, or greenish; rachis soft-hairy; bristles 1-3 per spikelet, rough, up to .5 inch long, usually purplish.

Spikelets

1/10 to 1/8 inch long, bearing 2 florets; lower floret sterile, 5-7-nerved; upper floret perfect; first glume ovate, about one third as long as spikelet; second glume about three fourths as long as spikelet, 5-7-nerved; seeds tawny, red, brown, or black, fall from rest of spikelet when mature.

Ecology

Habitat

Disturbed ground, waste places, fields, and roadsides.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Foxtail millet is often planted along highways to stabilize soil following road construction. It is also used as a hay and silage grass.

Additional Notes