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Glite Dictionary
Digitaria sanguinalis

Digitaria sanguinalis

9.9
A grass that often grows as a weed in lawns and fields and sometimes is used for animal feed
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Digitaria sanguinalis
  • Although Digitaria sanguinalis is used as forage in some areas, it is mostly treated as a weed in North America.

Examples

  • Farmers often try to control the spread of Digitaria sanguinalis to protect their crops.

  • Digitaria sanguinalis is commonly found invading lawns and gardens in temperate regions.

  • Farmers often struggle with Digitaria sanguinalis in their fields.

  • Have you seen how Digitaria sanguinalis spreads quickly?

  • Digitaria sanguinalis is often considered a nuisance in gardens due to its aggressive growth.

  • Controlling Digitaria sanguinalis can be challenging for farmers who want to maintain healthy crops.

  • Many people find Digitaria sanguinalis sprouting unexpectedly in their lawns and flower beds.

Synonyms

large crabgrass
vsDigitaria sanguinalis
  • UK
7.2

A grass used for hay that grows fast and often becomes a weed

is the scientific species name form rather than a casual descriptive name
hairy finger grass
vsDigitaria sanguinalis
  • UK
9.6

A grass from Europe grown for hay and often a weed in fields

focuses on being widely regarded as a weed rather than on its establishment

Surface Forms

Digitaria sanguinalis singular
Digitaria sanguinalis plural

Morphology

Digitaria + sanguinalis

This is a scientific Latin binomial: 'Digitaria' is a taxonomic genus name (a proper noun) and 'sanguinalis' is not an ordinary English word (not found in the dictionary). The label is a conventional species name rather than a compositional English phrase, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent tokens would not be able to derive that it refers to a grass species and thus the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Digitaria sanguinalis may come from two Latin words: Digitaria from 'finger' because the plant's seed heads spread out like fingers, and sanguinalis from 'blood' because parts of the plant can have a red color. So the name paints a simple picture of this common grass often seen as a 'weed'.