Crowfoot Grass
Dactyloctenium aegyptium · Warm-season, annual, C4 grass
AI-generated identification · may be incorrect
Grass Category
Weed Grass / Invasive Weed (also acts as minor forage)
Hardiness Zones
Thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 8-11, highly sensitive to frost and acts as a summer annual in temperate regions.
Grass Family
Poaceae, subfamily Chloridoideae, tribe Cynodonteae
Variety / Cultivar
Wild type (no commercial cultivars commonly recognized)
About This Grass
An annual warm-season grass with distinctive digitate seed heads resembling a bird's foot or crow's foot. It grows prostrate to somewhat erect, reaching heights of 10 to 60 cm. The foliage is medium to coarse, often with hairs on the leaf sheaths and margins.
Blade Characteristics
Blades are flat, medium width (3-8 mm), tapering to a sharp point, light green, often with prominent hairs along the margins near the base. Vernation is folded. Ligule is a thin, membranous fringe with hairs, and auricles are absent.
Root System
Shallow, fibrous root system with stolons that root at the nodes when touching moist soil. Establishes rapidly from seed in disturbed areas.
Growing Information
Origin Region
Native to the Old World (Africa and tropical Asia), now widely naturalized in tropical and warm temperate regions globally.
Growth Habit
Stoloniferous and prostrate to ascending, rooting at lower nodes and forming loose mats.
Sunlight & Water Needs
Requires full sun and thrives in open, disturbed soils. Moderate to high drought tolerance once established, but grows best with regular moisture. Prefers sandy or loamy soils.
Mowing & Maintenance
Usually managed as a weed in turfgrass; tolerates low mowing by spreading horizontally. High maintenance required to eradicate from lawns due to rapid seed production.
Special Characteristics
High seed production, excellent tolerance to poor soils and compaction, considered a persistent weed in lawns, gardens, and cultivated crops.
Ecological Information
Introduced weed in many parts of the Americas. Provides minor forage for livestock when young, but primarily functions as a colonizer of disturbed open ground.