Goosegrass Eleusine indica

Goosegrass, in the family Poaceae, is a weedy summer annual grass that has a flattened, white/silver base, leading to the common name silver crabgrass. Seedlings are generally prostrate in habit, but plants will produce upright shoots and flowering stems that can grow over the top of small plants.

Its stems do not root at the nodes, making removal possible in the plants early stages.  Once established, it forms a strong, fibrous root system, making removal very difficult.  Goosegrass begins to germinate a few weeks after crabgrass.

It thrives in disturbed areas with compacted soils in full sun such as grasslands, marshes, stream banks, farmland, and road sides. In its native habitats of tropical and subtropical locations it can quickly spread in farming locations, becoming a dominant weed, thereby effecting the crops being grown.  It is the most common weed in both agricultural and environmental environments. 

Although somewhat more difficult to control than crabgrass, most preemergence herbicides and selective post-emergence grass herbicides labeled for use will manage goosegrass. It is able to set seeds even when closely mowed.  Each plant can produce more than 50,000 plus seeds that are disbursed by the wind and rain as well as anything else coming into contact with the plant, such as machinery, animals and humans.  

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  Aggressive, weedy plant.