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Smooth Crabgrass

Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Schreb. ex Muhl.

Poaceae (Grass Family)

seedlings

young plants ▲▼

mature plants  ▲▼

inflorescence 

collar and ligule regions  ▲▼

Smooth Crabgrass:

·         warm-season, annual grass with spreading growth habit, sometimes rooting at nodes; 2-18" high; panicle inflorescence with 5 -10 branches in somewhat digitate panicle arrangement, with 2-6 panicle branches, 1-3.5” long

·         stems often growing in zig-zag habit along the ground

·         has, at most, only a few hairs on leaf blades near collar region, and no hairs on sheath, compared to large crabgrass or southern crabgrass

·         leaf midvein is not prominent, if sheath or stem has any color besides green, is often more purplish than reddish

·         can survive and reproduce under close mowing situations

·         requires light to germinate; may germinate over long periods in southern Missouri

·         spreads over adjacent plants, shading them and weakening them

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