Crowfoot Grass
Dactyloctenium aegyptium · Warm-season, annual, C4 grass
Grass Family
Poaceae, subfamily Chloridoideae, tribe Cynodonteae
Grass Category
Invasive/Weed Grass, Lawn/Turf Weed
Variety / Cultivar
Wild type (no specific named cultivars widely used in turf)
Hardiness Zones
USDA Hardiness Zones 8-11, highly sensitive to frost and acts as a summer annual in cooler temperate regions.
About This Grass
A low-growing annual grass with distinctive flat-growing stolons and characteristic finger-like seed heads resembling a bird's foot or crow's foot. Light to medium green color, coarse texture, highly aggressive spreader in disturbed soils.
Blade Characteristics
Blades are flat, medium-coarse in width (3-8mm), with pointed tips, prominent parallel veins, and hairy margins near the base. Ligule is a fringe of hairs, auricles are absent, and collars are broad and often hairy.
Root System
Fibrous root system with shallow rooting from the nodes of spreading stolons. Fast establishment from seed, forms a loose mat rather than a tight sod.
Growing Information
Origin Region
Native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World, now naturalized worldwide in warm climates.
Growth Habit
Stoloniferous and spreading, rooting at the nodes, forming flat mats on the ground.
Sunlight & Water Needs
Requires full sun and thrives in moist, disturbed soils, though it possesses moderate drought tolerance once established. Prefers warm, humid environments.
Mowing & Maintenance
Hard to control by mowing alone due to its low, prostrate growth habit below normal mower heights. High maintenance required for removal; hand pulling or selective herbicides are typically necessary.
Special Characteristics
Excellent tolerance to compaction and low mowing heights, poor cold tolerance, moderate drought resistance, acts as a troublesome weed in turfgrass and agricultural fields.
Ecological Information
Introduced species in many parts of the world, acts as a colonizer of disturbed soils and bare patches, provides minor forage value for livestock when young but primarily considered a weed.