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Giant Bristlegrass

Setaria magna

Found in Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated); Coastal dunes and beaches; freshwater marshes. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

44
Good

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Height
Up to about 12 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 17 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Coastal dunes and beaches

Core Banks dunes, June 2013
Dune grassland. Shown: Core Banks, Cape Lookout, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Core Banks dunes, June 2013, Jarek Tuszyński, June 2013. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source record.

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 101 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Setaria

  • Ancyloxypha numitorLeast Skipper
  • Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Hydraecia immanisHop Borer, Hop Vine Borer
  • Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
  • Lerema acciusClouded Skipper, Corn Leaf tier
  • Lerodea eufalaEufala Skipper, Gray Skipper, Rice Leafroller
  • Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
33BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Setaria

  • Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Ammospiza leconteiiLeConte's Sparrow
  • Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
  • Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
  • Branta canadensisCanada Goose
  • Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
  • Calcarius ornatusChestnut-collared Longspur
  • Calcarius pictusSmith's Longspur
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
Show all 33
  • Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
  • Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
  • Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
  • Dolichonyx oryzivorusBobolink
  • Eremophila alpestrisHorned Lark
  • Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
  • Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
  • Passer domesticusHouse Sparrow
  • Peucaea aestivalisBachman's Sparrow
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
  • Porzana carolinaSora
  • Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
  • Rallus limicolaVirginia Rail
  • Rhynchophanes mccowniiMcCown's Longspur
  • Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
  • Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
  • Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
  • Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
  • Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
  • Tympanuchus phasianellusSharp-tailed Grouse
  • Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
  • Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Poaceae
Flower color
White or green

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4
Global rankG4G5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources