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Small Crabgrass Digitaria ischaemum

Other Common Name(s):

Phonetic Spelling
dij-ih-TARE-ree-uh IS-kah-mum
Description

Smooth Crabgrass is a summer annual grass in the Poaceae family. This warm season lawn and garden weed germinates in the spring and grows through the summer producing seed.  The seed germinates in the late winter to early spring.  It has a ground-hugging clumping habit and can root in the ground at its leaf nodes making it very hard to pull up as it grows.  To manage the weed try to hand weed it when it is small before it has sent down secondary roots.  Mulching garden beds can slow germination.  It is killed off by frost.  

This plant is found in disturbed areas, lawns, meadows, sidewalk cracks and along roads in most states of the US. It tends to prefer heavier soils and tolerates full sun, part shade, heat and drought.

See this plant in the following landscape:
Cultivars / Varieties:
Tags:
#annual weed#warm season weed#weed
 
Cultivars / Varieties:
Tags:
#annual weed#warm season weed#weed
  • Attributes:
    Genus:
    Digitaria
    Species:
    ischaemum
    Family:
    Poaceae
    Life Cycle:
    Annual
    Recommended Propagation Strategy:
    Seed
    Country Or Region Of Origin:
    Central Europe, Japan
  • Whole Plant Traits:
    Plant Type:
    Annual
    Weed
    Habit/Form:
    Ascending
    Prostrate
    Spreading
    Growth Rate:
    Rapid
    Maintenance:
    High
  • Cultural Conditions:
    Light:
    Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
    Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
    Soil Texture:
    Clay
    Loam (Silt)
    Shallow Rocky
    Soil Drainage:
    Good Drainage
    Moist
    Occasionally Dry
  • Fruit:
    Fruit Color:
    Brown/Copper
    Purple/Lavender
    Display/Harvest Time:
    Fall
    Summer
    Fruit Type:
    Achene
    Fruit Length:
    < 1 inch
    Fruit Description:
    The spikelets turn brown to purplish and form dark brown to black oval seeds.
  • Flowers:
    Flower Inflorescence:
    Insignificant
    Raceme
    Flower Bloom Time:
    Fall
    Summer
    Flower Description:
    Flower clusters form at the end of flowering stems with small egg-shaped spikelets that are generally in pairs up the stem.
  • Leaves:
    Leaf Color:
    Green
    Leaf Type:
    Sheath
    Leaf Shape:
    Linear
    Leaf Margin:
    Entire
    Hairs Present:
    Yes
    Leaf Length:
    3-6 inches
    Leaf Width:
    < 1 inch
    Leaf Description:
    Flat green leaves are up to 4 inches long and 1/4 inch wide. Hairs are present on the sheath base. The ridged sheaths are open at the front and often have a few long hairs.
  • Stem:
    Stem Is Aromatic:
    No
    Stem Cross Section:
    Round
    Stem Surface:
    Smooth (glabrous)
    Stem Description:
    Stems are light green to purple near the base. The lower stems are mostly covered by sheaths.
  • Landscape:
    Problems:
    Weedy