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''Digitaria ciliaris'' is a species of
USDA Plants Profile. tropical finger-grass, tropical crabgrass or summer grass.
. The grass is known as "ගුරු තණ - guru thana" in
/ref>
Southern crabgrass PFAF
{{Taxonbar, from=Q8559911 ciliaris Grasses of Asia Grasses of India Flora of Sri Lanka Flora of Malta
''Digitaria ciliaris'' is a species of grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
known by the common names southern crabgrass,''Digitaria ciliaris''.USDA Plants Profile. tropical finger-grass, tropical crabgrass or summer grass.
. The grass is known as "ගුරු තණ - guru thana" in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
Distribution
''Digitaria ciliaris'' is a tough plant, believed to have originated in Asia but now found all over the tropical belt of the planet, as well as in manytemperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
regions of both hemispheres. This grass is an invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
considered an aggressive weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
in certain countries, including China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Together with ''Portulaca oleracea
''Portulaca oleracea'' (common purslane, also known as little hogweed, or pursley) is an annual (actually tropical perennial in USDA growing zones 10–11) succulent in the family Portulacaceae.
Description
The plant may reach in height. It ...
'', ''Ipomoea pes-caprae
''Ipomoea pes-caprae'', also known as bayhops, bay-hops, beach morning glory or goat's foot, is a common pantropical creeping vine belonging to the family Convolvulaceae. It grows on the upper parts of beaches and endures salted air. It is one ...
'' and ''Melanthera biflora
''Melanthera biflora'' (sin. ''Wollastonia biflora'') also known as sea daisy, beach daisy and sea ox-eye, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a scandent, rough-looking and fast-growing plant with a wide distribution. ...
'', ''Digitaria ciliaris'' is usually one of the first species colonizing degraded or altered environments in tropical zones of the planet.
Description
This grass is anannual plant
An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...
that can grow up to 1 m tall, but is usually much shorter. The roots are at the nodes and the stems produce runners that allow the plant to grow fast forming scruffy-looking patches about 1 m across and half a metre in height. The leaves are linear to linear-ovate narrowing at the tip to 15 centimeters long. The inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
is at the top of a long stem, usually much taller than the leaves, with two to nine 5–10 cm long sub-digitate racemes.''Digitaria ciliaris'' - CABI/ref>
Forage Crop
Southern crabgrass, especially the cultivars Red River Crabgrass, 'Impact', and 'Quick-n-Big', have been utilized as a forage crop for livestock, as it is a highly nutritious warm season grass. Red river crabgrass responds well to nitrogen fertilizer, growing around 6 inches tall, and needs to be in rotation with cool-season forage.References
External links
*Southern crabgrass PFAF
{{Taxonbar, from=Q8559911 ciliaris Grasses of Asia Grasses of India Flora of Sri Lanka Flora of Malta