Goosegrass

Goosegrass (Eleusine indica) is a summer annual grass that forms a prostrate, flattened rosette often described as a wagon-wheel, with stems radiating from a distinctive whitish to silvery center, earning it the nickname silver crabgrass. Blades are smooth and folded, and the flattened white base is a key identifier. Mature plants send up upright shoots and flowering stems bearing seedheads with two to several finger-like spikes that resemble a zipper, with seeds arranged in two rows along each spike. Its silvery flattened center and tougher, more clump-forming habit separate goosegrass from crabgrass, which is lighter green and roots at the nodes; goosegrass stems do not root at the nodes.

Goosegrass degrades the stand by forming tough, coarse, dark-green clumps with conspicuous silvery centers that contrast sharply with finer turf and create an uneven surface, particularly damaging on closely mowed sports turf and golf surfaces. Its strong root system and prostrate, traffic-tolerant habit let it dominate compacted, worn areas where desirable turf is already thin, crowding out the stand and disrupting playability. The prolific seed it produces ensures heavy reinfestation if left uncontrolled.

Goosegrass is a warm-season summer annual that reproduces by seed and is a prolific seed producer, with a single plant capable of producing well over one hundred thousand seeds. It germinates later than crabgrass, typically when soil temperatures reach roughly 60 to 65 degrees F, often two or more weeks after crabgrass, with germination promoted by fluctuating day and night temperatures and light at the soil surface. Although its stems do not root at the nodes, established plants develop a strong, fibrous root system that makes them very difficult to pull or kill once mature.

Goosegrass thrives in compacted, thin, and stressed turf and in hot, sunny, high-traffic areas such as sports fields, paths, and bunker edges, as well as in wet or poorly drained spots. Compaction and low mowing favor it heavily, and its later germination means preemergence applications timed only for crabgrass often run out of residual before goosegrass emerges. In warm climates it can survive year-round, so mature plants may already be present at the start of the season, reducing the effectiveness of preemergence herbicides.