Finger-grasses and similar species
What are they?
'Finger-grasses' is a loose term for those species that have flower heads made up of a series of narrow, slender spikes, like the fingers on a hand. The term has variously been used for members of both Paspalum and Digitaria
Where are they found?
Most members of this group occur as low, weedy plants of waste and cultivated places, with some being well-known as invasives of gardens.
Identification
The usually multi-fingered flower spikes distinguish this group from other grasses. Identifying individual species of Paspalum and Digitaria can be a real challenge and care should be taken to select material that isn't damaged or atypical in any way.
Smooth Crab-grass Digitaria ischaemum
Introduced from Europe. A widespread and abundant species found in all kinds of disturbed, grassy habitats. Flowers July to October.
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Hairy Crab-grass Digitaria sanguinalis
A now cosmopolitan weed of uncertain natural origin, this species is a well-known weed of lawns and all manner of grassy and waste places. Flowers July to October.
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Fringed Crab-grass Digitaria ciliaris
(Southern Crab-grass) A species of the American Tropics that occurs naturally as far north as Virginia, but which appears to be spreading northward and is now abundant in the Cape May area. Flowers August to October. Differs from other crab-grasses in its woolly florets, most noticeable when the plant is setting seed.
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Field Finger-grass Paspalum laeve
A widespread and common grass of all kinds of grassy places. Flowers July to October. A tall species with flowerheads on stems which may be up to three feet in length but often shorter due to mowing.
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Slender Finger-grass Paspalum setaceum
A widespread and common grass found in all kinds of grassy places. Flowers July to October. A short species which seems tolerant of mowing and does well on roadsides.
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Florida Finger-grass Paspalum floridanum
A widespread grass found in all kinds of grassy places, being most common in the southern part of Cape May County. Flowers August to October. A tall species which can almost be mistaken for the even larger Eastern Gamma-grass at a distance. Florets large, 3.8-4.3cm long.
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Indian Wire-grass Eleusine indica
A widespread and often abundant species of dry, waste and barren ground. Flowers July to September. A distinctive species with spikey flowers that spread outwards from the central shaft, and distinctly flattened and striated stems.
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Broad-leaved Beard-grass Gymnopogon ambiguus
(Bearded Skeleton-grass) A common plant of open, short, grassy areas, from open woods and shady field edges to roadsides, parks and gardens. Flowers July to October. A short grass which is easily overlooked, but is most obvious when the seeds develop and the old flower heads open into a pale, wiry tangle.
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Bermuda-grass Cynodon dactylon
A very common grass which is usually found in sandy and often arid soils in disturbed and waste areas, especially near the coast. Flowers June to October. Smallest of the 'finger grasses', it has two growth styles; may be found either as a short grass with creeping stems (in arid growing conditions) or as a taller, patch-forming grass in lawns and other grassy areas.
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Eastern Gama-grass Tripsacum dactyloides
A tall and imposing plant of woodland edge and watersides; also often found as a dominant plant in damp hollows where water sits well into spring. Flowers July to September. An imposing plant which forms large clumps of vegetation and has flower spikes that may reach well over head height. The flower spikes are distinctive, having the female flowers in the lower part of the spike and the male flowers in the upper part. After flowering, the male flowers drop off, leaving stubby fingers which fatten as the seeds develop.
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Maize Zea mays
(Corn, Sweet Corn) Introduced, probably from Central America. Well known as a crop plant, this species occasionally occurs on disturbed and abandoned ground as a short-lived adventive plant. Flowers July to September. Male flowers are carried in a fingered spike at the top of the plant, female flowers appear as fluffy clusters at the top of the developing seed clusters and carried low down on the plant, in axillary spikes.
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