Turf Weeds was developed to provide weed management information and newsearch reports to turfgrass managers.  This site contains information on weed identification, chemical and cultural management of weeds, and current topics relevant to weed management in lawns and professional turf.  Turf Weeds was created  by Dr. Shawn Askew, Assistant Professor of Turfgrass Weed Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University.
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Plant Description:
Name:common bermudagrass
Scientific Name:Cynodon dactylon
Family:Poaceae
Type:Grass
Lifecycle:Perennial
Habit:A wiry perennial grass with creeping stolons and rhizomes. Foliage is gray-green to bluish green and forms dense mats. As a desirable turfgrass, bermudagrass is typically maintained at less than 2.5 cm mowing height. Plants grow during summer and produce seedheads through mid to late summer. Foliage turns brown and persists through the dormant winter months and new green shoots arise in the spring.
Leaves:Leaves are gray-green to blue-green short (5 to 12 cm long) and narrow (2 to 5 mm wide). The collar often has long hairs and the ligule is a tuft of hairs. Leaves typically lack hairs and do not have auricles. Stolons are abundant.
Leaf Arrangement:Rolled in bud
Characteristics:Leaves are rolled in the bud and the ligule is hairy. Stolons are abundant and rhizomes are scaly and sharp.
Flower Seed Head:Seedheads are produced in mid to late summer and consist of 3 to 7 finger-like spikes that radiate from a central point on short, slender, ascending stems.
Seed Fruit:Seed are short and plump about 1.7 mm long and usually shiny straw colored.
Where Found:Common bermudagrass grows in hot dry climates typical of the southern US. It is a common weed in cool-season grasses of the transition zone. Bermudagrass does not survive harsh winters and is difficult to maintain as a turfgrass in extreme northern areas. However, enough plants usually persist to cause weed problems.

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