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Digitaria sanguinalis
Also called Crab-grass, hairy finger-grass, Hairy Finger Grass, Large Crabgrass, Purple Crabgrass, Crab Finger Grass, Hairy Summer Grass, Summer Grass
Hairy crabgrass is a low-growing annual grass that spreads across lawns, gardens and disturbed ground, often treated as a weed. It was historically grown for its edible grain and is valued as fodder.
Digitaria sanguinalis is a species of grass known by several common names, including hairy crabgrass, hairy finger-grass, large crabgrass, crab finger grass, purple crabgrass. It is one of the better-known species of the genus Digitaria, and one that is known nearly worldwide as a common weed. It is used as animal fodder, and the seeds are edible and have been used as a grain in Germany and especially Poland, where it is sometimes cultivated. This has earned it the name Polish millet.
During the European Middle Ages, Digitaria sanguinalis was cultivated by Slavic peoples in Eastern Europe, where it was cooked in soups and porridges.
African couchgrass · Raishan · Crabgrass · Digitgrass · Fonio · Black fonio · Smooth crabgrass · Indian crabgrass · Crabgrass
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Digitaria sanguinalis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
