Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris
Southern crab grass
(c) Dan Johnson, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Dan Johnson · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Annual · Not Native
Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris (Southern crab grass) is a non-native California annual in the Poaceae family, recognized by swollen-based hairs on leaf sheaths and digitate inflorescence.
Southern crab grass is a naturalized annual grass found in southern California coastal regions and San Diego County in open, disturbed areas at elevations generally below 150 meters. Flowering from June to September, this grass produces small, pale green to tan spikelets in whorled clusters 6 to 22 centimeters long. Growing with erect and decumbent stems 10 to 100 centimeters tall, it has distinctive leaf sheaths covered with swollen-based hairs. Its flat leaf blades are 1.5 to 25 centimeters long and 3 to 10 millimeters wide, typically rough or scabrous on both surfaces. The spikelets are elliptical, approximately 2.5 to 4 millimeters long, with acute tips and delicate branching structures.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 2 sympatric species; distinguished by swollen-based hairs on leaf sheaths and digitate inflorescence
Habitat and range
Habitat: Weedy in open, disturbed areas
Elevation: generally < 150 m
Outside California: native to the central and eastern United States, especially the southeastern
Bloom period
Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris blooms Jun-Sep.
How to tell it apart
vs Eleusine: Digitaria has flexible mature seeds; goosegrass has flattened hard seeds and often grows in a perfect rosette.; vs Cynodon: Digitaria has 3-10 finger-like branches; bermudagrass has 3-7 branches and spreads by aggressive stolons.; vs Ehrharta: Digitaria has finger-like branches with flexible seeds; veldtgrass has a pyramidal panicle with hardened lemmas.; vs Stenotaphrum: Digitaria has thin finger-like branches; St. Augustine grass has thick, flattened stems and embedded spikelets.; vs Cenchrus: Digitaria has open finger-like branches; sandbur has spikelets enclosed in spiny burs.
Frequently asked questions
Is Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris native to California?
No. Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris bloom?
Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris blooms Jun-Sep.
What plant family does Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris belong to?
Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris is in the Poaceae family, genus Digitaria.
What habitat does Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris grow in?
Digitaria ciliaris var. ciliaris grows in Weedy in open, disturbed areas.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-09-30
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.