Goosegrass
Eleusine indica · Warm-season, Annual, C4
Grass Family
Poaceae, subfamily Chloridoideae, tribe Cynodonteae
Grass Category
Invasive/Weed Grass, Turf Weed
Variety / Cultivar
Wild type (no specific named cultivars for turf weed applications)
Hardiness Zones
Thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-11, predominantly acting as a summer annual in temperate zones and perennial in true tropical climates. Highly heat-tolerant.
About This Grass
Goosegrass is an aggressive, unsightly summer annual weed. It grows in a very flat, rosette-like clump with a whitish or silvery center at the base of the stems. Height ranges from prostrate under frequent mowing up to 20-24 inches when left unmowed. Color is a dark green to grayish-green. It features very tough, fibrous stems that are difficult to cut with a dull mower. Seed heads consist of 2 to 10 digital (finger-like) spikes radiating from the top of the stem, plus often one or more spikes attached slightly lower on the stem.
Blade Characteristics
Blades are medium to coarse in width (3-8 mm), flat or folded, with a pointed tip. Color is dark green to grayish-green. Vernation is folded in the bud. The ligule is membranous and jagged/fringed, and auricles are absent. The collar region is broad and often flattened with distinctive hairs or smooth margins depending on the exact strain, but characteristically featuring a flattened, whitish, compressed stem base.
Root System
Features an exceptionally deep, tough, fibrous root system with a strong taproot-like central anchoring structure. Does not readily form thatch. Establishment is rapid from seed in disturbed, compacted soils. The robust root system makes mature plants extremely difficult to pull by hand.
Growing Information
Origin Region
Native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World, now naturalized worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions.
Growth Habit
Bunch-type (clump-forming) with a flattened, prostrate to ascending growth habit. Spreads primarily by seed production rather than aggressive stolons or rhizomes, though it forms very tough, flattened clumps.
Sunlight & Water Needs
Requires Full Sun and thrives in high temperatures and bright sunlight. Tolerates wet soils temporarily but is often an indicator of heavily compacted, poorly drained, or thin turf areas. Moderate to high water needs during active growth, but highly resilient once established.
Mowing & Maintenance
Extremely difficult to manage with mowing because the prostrate stems flatten beneath mower blades and the tough flower stalks easily dull mower blades. Ideal control requires pre-emergent herbicides or hand-pulling young plants. High maintenance once established due to its weed status.
Special Characteristics
Exceptional tolerance to soil compaction, heavy foot traffic, and low mowing heights. Highly resistant to many standard herbicides compared to other grassy weeds, requiring specialized post-emergents. Poor frost tolerance (killed by first hard freeze). Acts as a primary indicator of compacted turf.
Ecological Information
Considered an invasive weed in managed turfgrass, agricultural fields, and disturbed waste areas. Provides little positive ecological value in lawns, though seeds are consumed by certain birds. Its deep roots help prevent soil erosion on bare, compacted slopes where other grasses fail.