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Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd.

Overview
General Information
ID Info
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Aperçu
Renseignements Généraux
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Family :

Famille :

Poaceae

Synonym(s) :

Synonyme(s) :

Cynosurus aegyptius L. (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023; USDA-NRCS 2023)
Eleusine aegyptia (L.) Forsyth f. (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)

Common Name(s) :

Nom(s) commun(s) :

Crowfootgrass

(English) (AOSA 2023)
Beach wiregrass (English) (Rojas-Sandoval 2016)
Coast button grass (English) (Wiersema and León 1999; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Comb fringe grass (English) (Wiersema and León 1999; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Crowfoot grass (English) (Wiersema and León 1999; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Duck grass (English) (Wiersema and León 1999; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Durban crowfoot (English) (Barkworth et al. 2003; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Egyptian crowfoot grass (English) (Rojas-Sandoval 2016)
Egyptian grass (English) (DiTomaso and Healy 2007; USDA-NRCS 2023)
Finger comb grass (English) (Wiersema and León 1999; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Finger grass (English) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Chiendent patte-de-poule (French) (Rojas-Sandoval 2016)
Na’eem el-saleeb (Arabic) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Rigl’al’harbaya (Arabic) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Makri (India) (Wiersema and León 1999; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Estrela (Portuguese – Brazil) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Grama-de-dedo-egípcia (Portuguese – Brazil) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Grama-egípcia (Portuguese – Brazil) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Mão-de-sapo (Portuguese – Brazil) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Três-dedos (Portuguese – Brazil) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Estrella de mar (Spanish) (Rojas-Sandoval 2016)
Pata de gallo (Spanish) (Rojas-Sandoval 2016)
Yerba egipcia (Spanish) (Rojas-Sandoval 2016)
Zacate egipcio (Spanish) (Rojas-Sandoval 2016)
Knapphirs (Swedish) (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023)
Long zhao mao (龙爪茅 Transcribed Chinese) (eFloras 2023)

Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) floret groups, one upper (2nd) glume, and seeds

  • Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) floret groups, one upper (2nd) glume, and seeds

  • Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) floret group from spikelet in lateral view (glumes removed). Scale in mm.

  • Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) floret group or spikelet with glumes removed

  • Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) seeds in lateral view. Scale in mm.

  • Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) seeds

  • Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) seed in lateral view. Scale in mm.

  • Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) seed

  • Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) seed, embryo and hilum view

Explore More :

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Overview

Aperçu

Regulation :

Remarques Réglementation:

    Regulation Notes:

    Distribution :

    Répartition :

    Dactyloctenium aegyptium is native to both tropical and temperate Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Afghanistan, China, and tropical Asia, from sea level to 2100 m, and has been widely introduced elsewhere (Rojas-Sandoval 2016; USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023). It has become naturalized in Spain, Italy, California and the southeastern United States, Mexico, Belize, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023).

    Habitat and Crop Association :

    Habitat et Cultures Associées :

    Dactyloctenium aegyptium is adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions, it commonly invades arable lands, urban landscapes, disturbed sites, waste places, open grounds, and roadsides, preferring light sandy soils in sunny sites that are dry to moderately moist (Rojas-Sandoval 2016). This species has invaded and negatively impacted native habitats in coastal areas of Florida, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Galapagos Islands, and many other islands worldwide (Rojas-Sandoval 2016).

    D. aegyptium is considered a serious/principal weed of cotton (Gossypium spp.) in Australia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, and the United States. It is also a principal weed in Saccharum officinarum L. (sugarcane), Arachis hypogaea L. (groundnut or peanut), Zea mays L. (corn or maize), and a common weed of Oryza sativa L. (rice), Coffea spp. (coffee), Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze (tea), Manihot esculenta Crantz (cassava), Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. (sweet potatoes), Panicum miliaceum L. (millet), as well as a variety of tropical tree fruit and vegetable crops (Rojas-Sandoval 2016).

    Economic Use, cultivation area, and Weed Association :

    Utilisation économique, zone de culture et association de mauvaises herbes :

    Dactyloctenium aegyptium is used for forage and fodder (Sharma and Chivinge 1982; Rojas-Sandoval 2016). Although not the most palatable, the seeds have been used in Africa and India as food during famine, but the plants are not cultivated as a cereal crop (Barkworth et al. 2003; Rojas-Sandoval 2016). This species has been planted as a soil stabilizer in coastal Australia (Barkworth et al. 2003).

    Duration of Life Cycle :

    Durée du cycle vital:

    Annual (sometimes perennial in habit; Holm et al. 1977)

    Dispersal Unit Type :

    Type d’unité de dispersion :

    Floret group, seed

    General Information

    RENSEIGNEMENTS GÉNÉRAUX

    Dactyloctenium aegyptium is among the 20 most widespread weeds in agricultural, disturbed lands, and natural habitats of the world (Barkworth et al. 2003; Burke et al. 2003; Rojas-Sandoval 2016). D. aegyptium prefers light sandy soil and is well adapted to arid and semi-arid climates (Rojas-Sandoval 2016). Studies indicate D. aegyptium prefers warm alternating temperatures (20 – 35°C), acidic soils (pH 4 to 5), and shallow soil burial depths (from soil surface to 1 cm) for the best seed germination (Burke et al. 2003).

    This species spreads primarily by seeds, with an individual plant able to produce over 60,000 seeds, but can also spread via stems that root at lower nodes creating a mat-like growth pattern with both creeping and tall upright stems (Gould 1951; Holm et al. 1977; Barkworth et al. 2003; Rojas-Sandoval 2016).

    Dispersal of D. aegyptium seeds may occur by wind, in water, and by seed-eating animals and insects, as contaminants in commercial seed lots, and on soil contaminated farm equipment and land vehicles (Rojas-Sandoval 2016).

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    Identification

    Identification

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    • Spikelet

      Size

      • Spikelet length: 3 – 4.5 mm; width about 3 mm (Barkworth et al. 2003).
      • Lower glume (1st) length: 1.5 mm (Holm et al. 1977).
      • Upper glume (2nd) length: 2.5 mm (Holm et al. 1977).
      • Upper glume (2nd) awn length: 1 – 2.5 mm (Barkworth et al. 2003).

      Shape

      • Spikelet laterally compressed, broadly egg-shaped (ovate) in lateral view.
      • Lower glume (1st) narrowly teardrop shaped, tip pointed.
      • Upper glume (2nd) oval to egg-shaped, keel tip extending into a stout awn.

      Surface Texture

      • Spikelet papery, smooth and shiny, short stiff hairs on the glume keels and glume awn.
      • Glumes strongly keeled, keel forming a thickened ridge.

      Colour

      • Spikelet light yellowish green to reddish-green coloured.

      Other Features

      • Spikelet contains 3 – 5 florets (Gould 1951).
      • Disarticulation usually occurs between the glumes, the lower glume (1st) remains attached to the plant and the upper glume (2nd) remains attached as part of the dispersal unit (Gould 1951).
      • Florets remain attached to each other and usually fall from the plant as one unit.

      Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) floret groups, one upper (2nd) glume, and seeds

    • Floret

      Size

      • Floret length*: 2.6 – 2.9 mm (average 2.7 mm); width (lateral view)*: 1.1 – 1.5 mm (average 1.3 mm).
      • Palea nearly as long as lemma.
      • Lemma awn, if present: 0.5 – 0.8 mm long.
      *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 florets in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020). CDA-S-45740

      Additional floret measurements from the literature:
      • Lemma length: 2.6 – 4.0 mm (eFloras 2023).
      • Lemma length: 2.5 – 3.5 mm (Barkworth et al. 2007).

      Shape

      • Florets laterally compressed, egg-shaped in outline, strongly keeled, tapering to a point that may extend into a short awn.
      • Lemma strongly keeled, the mid-vein extended into a point or short curved awn.
      • Palea keels prominent.
      • Rachilla slender (Rojas-Sandoval 2016).
      • Callus blunt.

      Surface Texture

      • Lemma and palea papery, generally smooth and shiny on lateral surfaces.
      • Short, stiff hairs run along nearly the entire length of the lemma keel.
      • Palea keel hairs (palea teeth) short, stiff, and closely spaced.

      Colour

      • Florets light yellowish-brown, yellowish-green, or reddish-green coloured.

      Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) floret group from spikelet in lateral view (glumes removed). Scale in mm.

    • Caryopsis

      Size

      • Caryopsis/seed length*: 0.96 – 1.1 mm (average 1.0 mm); width (embryo view)*: 0.5 – 0.6 mm (average 0.56 mm); thickness (lateral view)*: 0.8 – 1.7 mm (average 0.9 mm).
      *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 caryopses/seeds in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020). CDA-S-45740

      Shape

      • Caryopsis polygonal in shape.

      Surface Texture

      • The thin papery pericarp separates entirely from the seed coat and the true seed falls free (Sendulsky et al. 1986; Barkworth et al. 2007).
      • Some whitish membranous pericarp tissue may remain attached to the seed.

      Colour

      • Caryopsis is light yellowish brown
    <
    >

    • Seed

      Size

      • Seed length*: 0.96 – 1.1 mm (average 1.0 mm); width (embryo view)*: 0.5 – 0.6 mm (average 0.56 mm); thickness (lateral view)*: 0.8 – 1.7 mm (average 0.9 mm).
      *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 caryopses/seeds in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020). CDA-S-45740

      Shape

      • Seed is laterally compressed and nearly square-shaped in lateral view, oblong in embryo view.

      Surface Texture

      • Seed surface is transversely wrinkled or ridged.

      Colour

      • Seed is light tan, orange or reddish-brown coloured.

      Other Features

      • The hilum is a knob-like protrusion in the center of the flattened bottom of seed

      Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) seeds

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    >

    • Embryo

      Size

      • Embryo length*: 0.49 – 0.57 mm (average 0.54 mm). The embryo is slightly more than one-half as long as caryopsis/seed and is nearly as wide as the caryopsis/seed.
      *Note: minimum and maximum based on a random selection of 10 embryos in normal range of this species using image measurement protocol (ISMA 2020). CDA-S-45740

      Shape

      • Embryo is oval shaped.

      Endosperm

      • Endosperm is solid (Terrell 1971).

      Other Features

      • Embryo in lateral position (Martin 1946).

      Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) seed, embryo and hilum view

    Identification Tips

    CONSEILS POUR L’IDENTIFICATION

    In D. aegyptium the spikelets fall from the plant as a laterally compressed unit. The lemmas have a stiff pointed tip that is often arched back over the keel. The caryopsis has a thin pericarp from which the seed usually emerges. The seed is laterally compressed and squarish in lateral outline, the surface has irregular transverse wrinkles or ridges, the embryo is positioned along the edge of the seed, and the bump shaped hilum is located at about 90° to the embryo on the adjacent seed edge.

    Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfootgrass) seed

    Additional Botany Information

    AUTRES RENSEIGNEMENTS BOTANIQUES

    Flowers/Inflorescence

    • The panicle inflorescence forms at the tip of the stem and consists of several finger-like branches extending out horizontally from a common point, each branch is 1.5 – 6 cm long, with closely compacted laterally compressed spikelets arranged in two rows on one side of each branch, the tip of each branch extends to form a sharp point 1 – 7 mm beyond the last spikelet of the branch (Gould 1951; Barkworth et al. 2003).

    Vegetative Features

    • Stems are 10-35 (100) cm tall, the lower portions of the stems bend and root at the nodes, while the upper portions of the stems grow upright.
    • Roots are fibrous.
    • Leaf blades are 5 – 22 cm long and 2 – 8 (12) mm wide, the leaf sheaths and blades with papillose-based hairs near the margins or on both surfaces of the blades.

    Descriptions based on Gould (1951) and Barkworth et al. (2003).

    Similar Species

    ESPÈCES SEMBLABLES

    Similar species are based on a study of seed morphology of various species, and those with similar dispersal units are identified. The study is limited by physical specimen and literature availability at the time of examination, and possibly impacted by the subjectivity of the authors based on their knowledge and experience. Providing similar species information for seed identification is to make users aware of similarities that could possibly result in misidentification.

    Examples of species with similar caryopses with thin, fragile, easily removed pericarps (naturally or mechanically removed) that allow for the seed to fall free from the fruit include:

    Acrachne racemosa (B. Heyne ex Roth) Ohwi. Seed 1 mm, subglobose, slightly compressed laterally, with deep longitudinal groove on side opposite embryo, transversely thick ridged from embryo margin to longitudinal groove, surface covered with raised dots or granular, reddish amber to black coloured, embryo more than one-half the length of the seed (Reed 1977; Watson and Dallwitz 1992; efloras 2023).

    Eleusine africana Kenn.-O’Byrne [E. c. subsp. africana (Kenn.-O’Byrne) Hilu & de Wet]., African finger millet, wild finger-millet. Caryopsis 2 mm long, 1 – 1.3 mm wide, with a free membranous and transparent pericarp; seed oblong-egg-shaped, dorsoventrally compressed, 1.3 – 1.5 mm long and 0.8 mm wide; surface minutely pitted or granular and shallowly ridged; black or dark red coloured; embryo about one-third the length of the seed; hilum small, round, basal; hybridizes freely with E. c. subsp. coracana (Reed 1997; Barkworth et al. 2003).

    Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. subsp. coracana, finger millet (Barkworth et al. 2003). Seed 1 – 2 mm, subglobose, slightly wider than long, flattened or with shallow longitudinal groove on hilum side; surface nearly smooth or with coarsely granular to minutely tuberculate concentric ridges; reddish brown coloured; embryo area flattened, more than one-half the length of the seed, 45° to 90° from hilum; hilum a raised oval, dark brownish black coloured.

    Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn., goosegrass (Barkworth et al. 2003). Caryopsis and seed laterally compressed; seed may not readily release from the pericarp at maturity; seed 1 – 1.5 mm long, 1 mm wide, with deep longitudinal groove on hilum side; surface finely striate and transversely ridged, the ridges radiating upward (obliquely) away from the embryo (viewed from embryo side) (Musil 1963; Gould 1981; Barkworth et al. 2003).

    Eleusine tristachya (Lam.) Lam., threespike goosegrass (Barkworth et al. 2003), American crowfoot grass (USDA-ARS-NPGS 2023). Caryopsis 1.5 – 1.8 mm long, 1 – 1.5 mm wide, oblong to egg-shaped, pericarp thin and papery; seed 1.2 mm long, 1 mm wide, subglobose, slightly concave on hilar face, red-brown to almost black coloured, surface with parallel transverse ridges and perpendicular striations between ridges; hilum round, basal (Edgar and Connor 2000).

    Seeds of Dactyloctenium aegyptium differ from the similar species by being laterally compressed and squarish in lateral outline; surface with irregular transverse wrinkles or ridges; seeds about 1 mm long and much narrower than the similar species (0.5 – 0.6 mm); seed colour is light tan, orange or reddish-brown.

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    Reference(s)

    Référence(s)

    Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA).  2023.  Rules for Testing Seeds, Vol. 3: Uniform Classification of Weed and Crop Seeds.  Association of Official Seed Analysts, Wichita, KS, USA.

    Barkworth, M. E., Capels, K. M., Long, S., and Piep, M. B. 2003. Flora of North America, Vol. 25 Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Poaceae, part 2. Oxford University Press.

    Burke, I. C., Thomas, W. E., Spears, J. F. and Wilcut, J. W. 2003. Influence of environmental factors on after-ripened crowfootgrass (Dactyloctenium aegyptium) seed germination. Weed Science 51: pp. 342-347. https://doi.org/10.1614/0043-1745(2003)051[0342:IOEFOA]2.0.CO;2.

    DiTomaso, J. M. and Healy, E. A.  2007.  Weeds of California and Other Western States.  Vol. 2: Geraniaceae – Zygophyllaceae.  Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication 3488.  University of California, Oakland, CA.

    Edgar, E. and Connor, H. E. 2000. Flora of New Zealand. Vol. 5. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln, New Zealand.

    eFloras. 2023. Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd. Flora of China. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200025115  Accessed December 21, 2023.

    Gould, F. W. 1981. Grasses of Southwestern United States. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.

    Holm, L. G., Plucknett, D. L., Pancho, J. B., Herberger, J. P. 1977. The World’s Worst Weeds: Distribution and Biology. The University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI.

    International Seed Morphology Association (ISMA).  2020.  Method for seed size measurement. Version 1.0. ISMA Publication Guide. 

    Martin, A. C.  1946.  The comparative internal morphology of seeds.  The American Midland Naturalist 36(3):513-660.

    Musil, A. F. 1963. Identification of Crop and Weed Seeds. Agriculture Handbook No. 219. Agricultural Marketing Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Washington, D. C.

    Reed, C. F. 1977. Economically Important Foreign Weeds: Potential Problems in the United States. Agriculture Handbook No. 498. Agricultural Research Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture.

    Rojas-Sandoval, J. 2016. Dactyloctenium aegyptium (crowfoot grass). CABI Compendium. https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.19321.

    Sendulsky, T., Filgueiras, T. S., and Burman, A. G. 1987. Fruits, Embryos and Seedlings, Ch. 4, pp. 31-36. In: Grass Systematics and Evolution. Soderstrom, T. R., Hilu, K. W., Campbel, C. S., and Barkworth, M. E. (Eds.). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C., USA.

    Sharma, B. M., & A. O. Chivinge. 1982. Contributions to the Ecology of Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) P. Beauv. Journal of Range Management, 35(3), 326–331. https://doi.org/10.2307/3898311

    Terrell, E. E. 1971. Survey of occurrences of liquid or soft endosperm in grass genera. Bull. Torr. Botan. Club 98(5):264-268.

    United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service-National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-ARS-NPGS). 2023. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. http://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=13133.  Access December 21, 2023.

    United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS). Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd. https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=DAAE  Accessed December 21, 2023.

    Watson, L. and Dallwitz, M. J. 1992. The Grass Genera of the World. C.A.B. International.

    Wiersema, J. H. and León, B. 1999. World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

    Author(s)

    AUTEUR(S)

    Deborah J. Lionakis Meyer, California Department of Food and Agriculture (retired) and Krishan Shah, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

    Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank reviewers Jennifer Neudorf and Angela Salzl for their suggestions for fact sheet improvement.

    contactus@idseed.org

    Last updated
    on 2023-03-27

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