Digitaria ciliaris

Easily mistaken for D. sanguinalis which is the most common of southern crabgrasses. It has densely hairy foliage and short, transparent spines on the nerves of the sterile lemma, while the foliage of D. ciliaris is hairless to sparsely papilose-pilose foliage and the nerves on the sterile lemma are hairless.

This information is for the genus Digitaria with note that D. ischaemum, D. anguinalis, and D. filiformis are especially valuable to wildlife. Animals that eat its seeds: Ground dove, Mourning dove, Bobwhite quail, Wild turkey, Cowbird, Slate-colored junco, American pipit, Chipping, field, savannah and tree sparrows, Clay-colored and english sparrow, Pine-woods, song, swamp and white-crowned sparrows. Animals that eat the plants: Cottontail rabbit (Martin et al. 1951).

The genus name Digitaria refers to the Latin word "digitus," or finger-like, and describes the type of seed head common to this group. A notorious weed of lawns found throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the world including most of the United States. Digitaria ciliaris is the first species of Digitaria to bloom in Louisiana.

Weed in waste ground, lawns, gardens, and fields.