Hairy crabgrass

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Hairy crabgrass leaves

Hairy crabgrass

Hairy crabgrass

Hairy crabgrass inflorescence

Hairy crabgrass

Hairy crabgrass spikelets

Morphology

Culm

Erect, ascending, or decumbent, stout, branching, glabrous, usually bent sharply near base, often rooting at nodes.

Blades

Flat, 1 to 8 inches long, 1/8 to 1/2 inch wide, sometimes purplish, surfaces more or less rough with hairs from pimple-like bases.

Sheath

Shorter than internodes, loose, hairy; hairs with pimple-like bases.

Ligule

Membranous, less than .1 inch long, thin, irregularly toothed.

Inflorescence

Panicle of 2 to 9 spike-like branches, whorled or slanted along short axis; branches 2 to 7 inches long, green, often turning purplish; rachis flattened or winged.

Spikelets

Narrow, pointed, 1/10 to 1/6 inch long, 1-flowered, usually pubescent between smooth or rough nerves, arranged close together in 2's on one side of rachis, one spikelet nearly sessile, the other short-stalked; first glume minute, triangular, glabrous; second glume lanceolate, pubescent, longer than first glume, 30-60% as long as spikelet; fertile lemma narrow, pale or grayish, equaling spikelet in length.

Ecology

Habitat

Waste areas, lawns, margins of ponds, rocky open sites, roadsides, and cultivated ground.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Forage Value

Provides limited forage value in the late summer and fall.

Uses

The seeds are eaten by wild turkeys and some songbirds.

Additional Notes