Digitaria longiflora(Retz.) Pers.

Indian crabgrass

WFO wfo-0000864117 Accepted WFO 2026-06 7 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–g · 2 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 2 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Digitaria longiflora, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. a Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-08-01 / obs. 147887338
Digitaria longiflora, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. b bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / obs. 107285240
Digitaria longiflora, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. c Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 147887385
Digitaria longiflora, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. d bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / obs. 107285127
Digitaria longiflora, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. e Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 147887418
Digitaria longiflora, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. f Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 147887453
Digitaria longiflora, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. g Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 147887496

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 75 botanical countries

Regions where Digitaria longiflora is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan, Transcaucasus, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanTaiwanTranscaucasusAssamBangladeshBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern Australia MauritiusRéunionAndaman Is.Laccadive Is.
Native distribution of Digitaria longiflora, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Taiwan TAI
Transcaucasus TCS
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 44 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Agrostis lenta Aiton
  • Agrostis triracemosa Roxb. ex Hook.f.
  • Anastrophus nematanthus Schltdl. ex B.D.Jacks.
  • Digitaria corradii Chiov.
  • Digitaria curvipes Mez
  • Digitaria eriolepis Henrard
  • Digitaria filiculmis (Nees ex Miq.) Ohwi
  • Digitaria flexilis Henrard
  • Digitaria friesii Pilg.
  • Digitaria hatusimae Ohwi
  • Digitaria longiflora var. elatior Hack. ex Henrard
  • Digitaria longiflora var. prorepens Henrard
  • Digitaria malesiae Ohwi
  • Digitaria oblongo-ovata Ohwi
  • Digitaria preslii (Kunth) Henrard
  • Digitaria preslii var. glabrata Henrard
  • Digitaria propinqua (R.Br.) P.Beauv.
  • Digitaria pseudo-durva var. minus (Nees) Miq.
  • Digitaria roxburghii Spreng.
  • Digitaria speciosa Henrard
  • Digitaria tenuiflora (R.Br.) P.Beauv.
  • Milium filiforme Roxb.
  • Milium radiatum Rottler ex Hook.f.
  • Milium triracemosum Roxb. ex Hook.f.

and 20 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.