Taxon: Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Schreb. ex Muhl.

Summary

Genus:

Digitaria

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Panicoideae

Tribe:

Paniceae

Subtribe:

Anthephorinae

Nomen number:

14029

Place of publication:

Descr. gram. 131. 1817

Protologue link:

https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15348491

Comment:

the specific epithet is a noun and retains its own gender and termination irrespective of the gender of the generic name (Shenzhen ICN Art. 23.5)

Verified:

10/17/2000 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

7 (1 active, 1 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Panicum ischaemum Schreb.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Syntherisma ischaemum (Schreb.) Nash

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Digitaria humifusa Pers.
Panicum glabrum (Schrad.) Gaudin
Syntherisma humifusum (Pers.) Rydb.

No images

Links

Forestry Images – from www.forestryimages.org
Spikelets and/or florets – Seed ID Workshop image, from Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

AusGrass2 (on-line resource).
University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Bor, N. L. 1960. The grasses of Burma, Ceylon, India, and Pakistan.
Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. 1968-1974. The CIBA-GEIGY Weed Tables 2.2.
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 42.
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2.
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Note: with two varieties
Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
McElroy, J. S. & P. C. Bhowmik. 2013. 22. Turfgrass weed management. In: Casler, M. D. & R. R. Duncan, eds., Turfgrass biology, genetics, and breeding 56:777-808. DOI: 10.2134/agronmonogr56.c22.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:128. Note: lists as Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Muehl.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
Ugarte, E. et al. 2011. Vascular alien flora, Chile. Check List 7:365-382.
Villaseñor, J. L. & F. J. Espinoza-Garcia. 2004. The alien flowering plants of Mexico. Diversity & Distrib. 10:113-123.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:204.
1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	small crabgrass		1	1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.
English	smooth crabgrass		1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	smooth finger grass		1	Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
English	smooth summer grass		1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English (Canada)	smooth crab grass	Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada official name	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 42.
French (Canada)	digitaire astringente	Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 42.
German	kahle Fingerhirse		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation	Dagestan		Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia	Ciscaucasia		Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Gansu Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Hebei Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Heilongjiang Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Jilin Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Liaoning Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Nei Mongol Zizhiqu		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Shaanxi Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Shanxi Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Sichuan Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Xizang Zizhiqu		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan		n.	Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kazakhstan			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kyrgyzstan			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Uzbekistan			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation-Far East	Far East		Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia	Eastern Siberia		Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Western Siberia	Western Siberia		Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey		n.e.	Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan		n.	Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Estonia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Astrakhan		Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:128. Note: lists as Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Muehl.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Saratov		Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:128. Note: lists as Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Muehl.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Volgogradskaja oblast'		Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:128. Note: lists as Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Muehl.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part	s.	Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Slovakia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Slovenia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bhutan			Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	New South Wales	e.	AusGrass2 (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	South Australia	s.e.	AusGrass2 (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Victoria		AusGrass2 (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Northern America		Canada			FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		Mexico			Villaseñor, J. L. & F. J. Espinoza-Garcia. 2004. The alien flowering plants of Mexico. Diversity & Distrib. 10:113-123.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States			FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	Hispaniola			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Virgin Islands, U.S.		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Ugarte, E. et al. 2011. Vascular alien flora, Chile. Check List 7:365-382.

Native
Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Iran, Turkey (n.e.)
CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation [Dagestan]
SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia]
MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan
RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation-Far East [Far East]
CHINA: China [Gansu Sheng, Hebei Sheng, Heilongjiang Sheng, Jilin Sheng, Liaoning Sheng, Nei Mongol Zizhiqu, Shaanxi Sheng, Shanxi Sheng, Sichuan Sheng, Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu, Xizang Zizhiqu]
EASTERN ASIA: Japan (n.)

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Pakistan (n.)

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Norway
MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part (s.)], Belarus, Estonia, Moldova, Russian Federation [Astrakhan, Saratov, Volgogradskaja oblast'], Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Romania, Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France (incl. Corsica), Portugal

Naturalized
Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bhutan

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [New South Wales (e.), South Australia (s.e.), Victoria]

Northern America

REGION: Canada, Mexico, United States

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Hispaniola, United States [Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S.]
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Chile

Reference(s)

AusGrass2 (on-line resource).
Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Skvortsov, A. K., ed. 2006. Flora of the Lower Volga region 1:128. Note: lists as Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Muehl.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Tzvelev, N. N. 1976. Zlaki SSSR
Ugarte, E. et al. 2011. Vascular alien flora, Chile. Check List 7:365-382.
Villaseñor, J. L. & F. J. Espinoza-Garcia. 2004. The alien flowering plants of Mexico. Diversity & Distrib. 10:113-123.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	forage		Bor, N. L. 1960. The grasses of Burma, Ceylon, India, and Pakistan.
Weed		of turfgrass	McElroy, J. S. & P. C. Bhowmik. 2013. 22. Turfgrass weed management. In: Casler, M. D. & R. R. Duncan, eds., Turfgrass biology, genetics, and breeding 56:777-808. DOI: 10.2134/agronmonogr56.c22.
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. 1968-1974. The CIBA-GEIGY Weed Tables 2.2.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=14029. Accessed 17 April 2026.