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| Crabgrass; Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. |
Grass Family; GRAMINEÆ (POACEÆ)
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| Two weedy grasses are often confused in name. They are not closely related, however, and do not look alike. Quackgrass and
Crabgrass are their names. |
| Crabgrass is a summer-annual, often red tinted, leaning and lax, common only in some rich, cultivated soil and some lawns.
Arising from broad, short leaves (a third to half an inch wide), its flowerstems branch into 3 to 10 dainty,
very slender spikes of 2 to 5 inches long. It is more difficult to get rid of than Quackgrass, because mowing it just makes it flower nearer the ground, and it seeds itself at an
almost unbelievable rate. It grows about 1 to 2 feet tall, more under ideal conditions. Other names include Hairy, Large or Purple
Crabgrass, Fingergrass, Pigeongrass, and Crowfoot Grass. In warmer climates than Seattle's it is far more serious a pest. Control demands
diligent weekly hoeing and hand-pulling from July through September (at least). Even a few specimens left to reseed ensure more seedlings
next summer. |
Originally published as the Seattle Tilth newsletter Weed of the Month in September 1988, along with an illustration drawn by Sylvan Haven.
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