Large Crabgrass
Digitaria sanguinalis · Warm-season, Annual, C4
Grass Family
Poaceae, subfamily Panicoideae, tribe Paniceae
Grass Category
Invasive/Weed Grass
Variety / Cultivar
Wild type (No specific cultivars as this is a common weed grass)
Hardiness Zones
USDA Hardiness Zones 3-10 as a warm-season summer annual, killed by the first heavy autumn frost.
About This Grass
An annual grassy weed with a sprawling, crab-like growth habit spreading outward from a central root system. Stems can reach up to 1-2 feet long, often branching and lying flat or ascending near the tips. Color is light green to bluish-green, turning purplish in autumn. Produces distinctive finger-like (digitate) raceme seed heads.
Blade Characteristics
Coarse blades, 4-10 mm wide, flat, pointed tips, light green to grayish-green, rolled in the bud. Leaves and sheaths are typically hairy. Ligule is membranous and jagged without auricles.
Root System
Shallow, fibrous root system with weak adventitious roots forming where creeping stems touch moist soil. Fast establishment from seed, poor drought tolerance without summer watering, and zero thatch-forming capability.
Growing Information
Origin Region
Native to Europe and temperate Asia; now naturalized worldwide in temperate and tropical regions
Growth Habit
Stoloniferous and prostrate, spreading outward along the ground and rooting at the lower nodes, forming wide patches
Sunlight & Water Needs
Requires full sun (intolerant of dense shade), moderate to high moisture for rapid growth, though it can survive dry periods by going dormant. Prefers warm soils and fertile, disturbed soils with a neutral pH.
Mowing & Maintenance
Low mowing heights encourage horizontal spreading and seed production below the blade level. Maintained strictly through pre-emergent herbicides, hand pulling, or post-emergent selective weed control.
Special Characteristics
High seed production, excellent ability to invade thin turf areas, highly competitive in bare spots, poor traffic tolerance, susceptible to various turfgrass fungi if stressed.
Ecological Information
Introduced weed species in North America, provides minimal forage value for livestock or wildlife, acts as an indicator of compacted soil or thin turf stands, controlled primarily to prevent choking out desirable turfgrasses.