Ah! You’re asking about Digitaria sanguinalis, commonly known as large crabgrass. Let’s go through it carefully.
🌱 Digitaria sanguinalis (Large Crabgrass)
🔹 Classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Order: Poales
- Family: Poaceae (grass family)
- Genus: Digitaria
- Species: D. sanguinalis
Common names: Large crabgrass, hairy crabgrass
🔹 Description
- Type: Annual grass (sometimes behaves like a perennial in warm climates)
- Growth habit: Low-growing, spreading with creeping stems (stolons) that root at nodes
- Leaves: Hairy, long, flat blades
- Flowers: Small spikelets arranged in finger-like clusters (hence “Digitaria,” meaning “finger-like”)
- Height: Usually 30–60 cm (1–2 ft)
🔹 Habitat & Distribution
- Native to: Tropical Africa
- Now found: Worldwide, especially warm-temperate and tropical regions
- Habitat: Lawns, roadsides, disturbed soils, crop fields (weedy)
🔹 Reproduction & Spread
- Reproduces by seeds and sometimes by stolons
- Very fast-growing in warm conditions
- Seeds can remain dormant in soil for several years
🔹 Significance
- Agricultural Weed:
- Competes with crops like corn, soybeans, and vegetables
- Can reduce yield if uncontrolled
- Lawn Weed:
- Common nuisance in lawns and gardens
- Forage:
- Young shoots can be grazed by livestock
- Less nutritious than other forage grasses
🔹 Control Methods
- Cultural: Mow regularly, maintain healthy dense turf
- Mechanical: Hand-pulling or hoeing before seed set
- Chemical: Selective herbicides (e.g., those targeting crabgrass)
- Preventive: Mulching, overseeding, crop rotation
🔹 Fun Fact
- Called “crabgrass” because its stolons spread like crab legs across the ground.
- Seeds are tiny and can easily contaminate soil and feed.
If you want, I can also make a quick visual ID guide for Digitaria sanguinalis vs other common crabgrasses—super useful for lawns or crops.
Do you want me to do that?
