Species guide

Crabgrass

Harmless

Digitaria sanguinalis

Crabgrass
Photo: Joe Dillon · CC BY

How to recognise it

A low, sprawling grass that grows outward in a star shape, with finger-like seed spikes radiating from the tips of the stems. Light green and fast-spreading in summer.

Is it dangerous?

Harmless — purely a vigorous annual lawn weed, not a hazard.

What to do

Use a pre-emergent in early spring and keep turf thick and a little longer to shade it out.

Recorded 142,391 times in the wild worldwide.

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