Goosegrass (Eleusine Indica)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Group: Monocot (Grass)
Summer annual grass with very flat stems and tough leaves, native of Eurasia. It usually appears to be white to silver in color due primarily to the color of the margins of leaf sheaths. Goosegrass is found in open areas and cultivated fields, and thrives in areas of soil compaction, such as dirt roads or paths.
Seedling first leaf blade is about 3 to 5 times longer than wider and open parallel to the ground. Leaf sheath margins are white to translucent, flattened, smooth, with an unevenly toothed membranous ligule.
Leaf blade of mature plants are flat, hairless or occasionally hairy, 1/8 to 3/8-inch wide and 2 to 13 inches long. Leaf sheath is compressed and has a hairy mouth and margin primarily to the color of the margins of the leaf sheaths. Ligule is a fringed uneven membrane
Flowers or seed heads usually have 2 to13 finger-like spikes. Usually one spike is below the others, which are bunched toward the tip. Two rows of seeds occur on the underside of the spikes.
Stem is very flat, usually 4 inches to 3 feet tall. It often displays a very prostrate (flat to the ground) growth habit, often described as looking like someone has stepped in the middle of the plant, flattening it out.
Roots are fibrous.
Propagation is by seed.
