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East Indian crabgrass

common crabgrass, crabgrass, digitaire sanguine, hairy crab grass

Habit Plants of indefinite duration. Plants annual.
Culms

to 120 cm tall, bases long-decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes.

20-70(112), often decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes.

Sheaths

with papillose-based hairs;

ligules 2.5-3.5 mm;

blades 4-28 cm long, 4-12 mm wide, scabrous, usually with some scattered papillose-based hairs on the base of the adaxial surfaces, sometimes with hairs all over.

keeled, usually sparsely pubescent with papillose-based hairs;

ligules 0.5-2.6 mm;

blades 2-11(14) cm long, 3-8(12) mm wide, usually with papillose-based hairs on both surfaces, sometimes glabrous.

Panicles

with 3-11 spikelike primary branches in 1-several whorls, rachises to 6 cm;

primary branches 5-15 cm, axes wing-margined, wings more than 1/2 as wide as the midribs, lower and middle portions bearing spikelets in unequally pedicellate pairs;

secondary branches absent;

shorter pedicels 0.3-0.8 mm;

longer pedicels 1.7-2.7 mm.

with 4-13 spikelike primary branches, these subdigitate or on rachises to 6 cm;

primary branches 3-30 cm long, 0.7-1.5 mm wide, flattened and winged, wings more than 1/2 as wide as the midribs, lower and middle portion of the branches bearing spikelets in unequally pedicellate pairs, pedicels not adnate to the branches;

secondary branches rarely present.

Spikelets

2.4-3.5 mm, homomorphic, ovate.

homomorphic, 1.7-3.4 mm long, 0.7-1.1 mm wide.

Lower glumes

absent or to 0.1 mm;

upper glumes 0.2-1.3 mm, 1/6 - 1/3 as long as the spikelets, 1-3-veined, margins and apices with appressed, white hairs about 0.5 mm, truncate or bilobed;

lower lemmas (5)7-veined, veins smooth or scabrous only over the distal 1/3, unequally spaced, margins and lateral intercostal regions silky-ciliate;

upper lemmas tan or gray when immature, brown at maturity, acuminate;

anthers 0.6-1.3 mm.

0.2-0.4 mm long, veinless;

upper glumes 0.9-2 mm, 1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 3-veined, pubescent on the margins;

lower lemmas usually exceeded or equaled by the upper florets, sometimes exceeding them but by no more than 0.2 mm, glabrous, 7-veined, lateral (or all) veins scabrous throughout or smooth on the lower (1/3)1/2 and scabrous distally, 3 middle veins usually widely spaced, remaining veins on each side close together and near the margins;

upper lemmas 1.7-3 mm, yellow or gray, frequently purple-tinged when immature, often becoming brown at maturity;

anthers 0.5-0.9 mm.

2n

= 70, 72.

= 36, 28, 34, 54.

Digitaria setigera

Digitaria sanguinalis

Distribution
from FNA
FL; HI; PR
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; PR; AB; BC; MB; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Digitaria setigera is native to southeastern Asia. It is now established in tropical America, growing in disturbed habitats in Florida and Central America, and probably in tropical South America. It has often been confused with D. sanguinalis.

Plants in the Flora region belong to Digitaria setigera Roth var. setigera. Unlike plants of D. setigera var. calliblepharata (Henrard) Veldkamp, they do not have large, glassy hairs on their lower lemmas.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Digitaria sanguinalis is a weedy Eurasian species that is now found in waste ground of fields, gardens, and lawns throughout much of the world, including the Flora region.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 382. FNA vol. 25, p. 380.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Digitaria Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Digitaria
Sibling taxa
D. abyssinica, D. arenicola, D. bakeri, D. bicornis, D. californica, D. ciliaris, D. cognata, D. didactyla, D. eriantha, D. filiformis, D. floridana, D. gracillima, D. hitchcockii, D. horizontalis, D. insularis, D. ischaemum, D. leucocoma, D. longiflora, D. milanjiana, D. nuda, D. patens, D. pauciflora, D. pubiflora, D. sanguinalis, D. serotina, D. simpsonii, D. texana, D. tomentosa, D. velutina, D. violascens
D. abyssinica, D. arenicola, D. bakeri, D. bicornis, D. californica, D. ciliaris, D. cognata, D. didactyla, D. eriantha, D. filiformis, D. floridana, D. gracillima, D. hitchcockii, D. horizontalis, D. insularis, D. ischaemum, D. leucocoma, D. longiflora, D. milanjiana, D. nuda, D. patens, D. pauciflora, D. pubiflora, D. serotina, D. setigera, D. simpsonii, D. texana, D. tomentosa, D. velutina, D. violascens
Synonyms Syntherisma sanguinalis
Name authority Roth (L.) Scop.
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