Large Crabgrass
Digitaria sanguinalis · Warm-season, Annual, C4 grass
Grass Family
Poaceae, subfamily Panicoideae, tribe Paniceae
Grass Category
Invasive/Weed Grass
Variety / Cultivar
Wild type (common weed species with no cultivated varieties)
Hardiness Zones
USDA Hardiness Zones 3-10, surviving as an annual completing its lifecycle in one season, killed completely by the first hard frost.
About This Grass
An aggressive, coarse-textured summer annual weed grass that forms spreading mats. Unmowed plants can reach 12 to 24 inches in height. It has a bright to yellowish-green color, turning purplish-red in autumn after frost, and produces digitate (finger-like) raceme seed heads in late summer.
Blade Characteristics
Coarse blades, 4-10 mm wide, flat, pointed tip, light to yellowish-green color, rolled in the bud (vernation). Blades and sheaths are typically sparsely to densely hairy. Membranous ligule, no auricles, broad continuous collar.
Root System
Shallow, fibrous root system with stolons that root at the lower nodes. Fast establishment from seed in spring, low drought tolerance once dry, forms loose patches rather than dense turf.
Growing Information
Origin Region
Native to Europe and temperate Asia; now naturalized worldwide in temperate and tropical regions
Growth Habit
Stoloniferous and spreading prostrate to semi-erect, rooting at lower nodes, forming loose patches
Sunlight & Water Needs
Requires full sun (intolerant of shade), moderate to high water needs for active growth, poor drought tolerance causing early dormancy/wilting, prefers moist, compacted, or poorly drained soils with a wide pH range.
Mowing & Maintenance
Mows well at typical turf heights (1.5 to 3 inches), but survives by producing seed heads below normal mowing heights. High maintenance required to eradicate; requires pre-emergent herbicides in early spring and post-emergent control.
Special Characteristics
Extremely low wear tolerance for sports, highly invasive in thin lawns, excellent at colonizing bare soil and thin turf areas, poor drought and salt tolerance, highly competitive against weak turf.
Ecological Information
Introduced weed species in North America, provides minor seed food for ground-feeding birds, highly aggressive colonizer of disturbed soils, often indicates compacted soil or poor turf density.