Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd.

Crowfoot Grass; Egyptian Grass

Herb

Annual

Vascular

Crowfoot Grass is an introduced annual in the Grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Africa, but is widely distributed in Alabama. It occurs statewide, but is most common in the southern half of the state. Crowfoot Grass occurs as a weed in lawns and flower beds, in row crops, in pastures, on roadsides, and in other disturbed sites. It is an erect or slightly mat forming species with stems rooting at the nodes. Rarely it’s stoloniferous, with long creeping stems. The leaves are alternate, linear in outline, pubescent with hairs having a swollen base, and dark green in color. The leaves are alternate and have pubescent sheaths. The flowers are produced in spikelets arranged in a digitate terminal inflorescence with 2-9 radiating branches. The fruit is a grain. Crowfoot Grass is a very distinctive and easily recognizable species. In Africa the seed have sometimes been eaten, especially in times of famine. In Australia and India it is sometimes planted to stabilize sand dunes. At certain growth stages this species is used for livestock food, but there are also reports that this species produces cyanogenetic glycosides that can poison livestock.--A. Diamond

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Not Native

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