Crabgrass
Digitaria sanguinalis · Warm-season, Annual, C4
Grass Family
Poaceae, subfamily Panicoideae
Grass Category
Invasive/Weed Grass
Variety / Cultivar
Wild type (Common Large Crabgrass)
Hardiness Zones
USDA Hardiness Zones 3-10, acts strictly as a summer annual completing its lifecycle in one season, killed by the first hard frost.
About This Grass
An aggressive, low-growing annual weed with a sprawling or ascending habit. Color is typically light green to bluish-green. It can reach heights of 6 to 24 inches if left unmowed. Distinctive digitate or finger-like raceme seed heads appear in late summer.
Blade Characteristics
Coarse texture, width typically 4-10mm, flat, pointed tips, rolled in the bud (vernation). Has a membranous ligule and lacks auricles, often featuring hairs on the leaf blades and sheaths.
Root System
Fibrous and shallow root system with stolons that root at the nodes. Establishes rapidly from seed in bare or thin turf areas, moderate drought tolerance once established.
Growing Information
Origin Region
Europe and temperate Asia, now widely naturalized globally in temperate and tropical regions
Growth Habit
Stoloniferous and spreading, rooting at the lower nodes, forming loose or sprawling clumps
Sunlight & Water Needs
Requires full sun and open areas, cannot tolerate dense shade. Moderate water needs, highly drought-tolerant by entering dormancy during dry spells, adapts to various soil types with pH 6.0-7.0.
Mowing & Maintenance
Resilient to frequent mowing but spreads horizontally below normal mowing heights. High maintenance as a weed requiring pre-emergent herbicides, hand-pulling, or post-emergent control.
Special Characteristics
Exceptional ability to invade thin or stressed lawns, high seed production, poor wear tolerance compared to dense turfgrasses, highly competitive in hot weather.
Ecological Information
Introduced species often considered a troublesome agricultural and turf weed. Provides minor food source and seed for birds and small mammals, but generally disrupts native plant communities and manicured turf.