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Digitaria filiformis (L.) Koeler var. dolichophylla
(Henrard) Wipff
Caribbean crabgrass

Family: Poaceae

Group: Monocot

Substrate: Terrestrial

Habit: Herb

Perennation: Perennial

Native Range: South Florida and the Greater Antilles.

Map of Florida Locations

State of Florida Status: Threatened

Florida Natural Areas Inventory State Status: SNR

IRC SOUTH FLORIDA Status: Critically Imperiled

SOUTH FLORIDA Occurrence: Present

SOUTH FLORIDA Native Status: Native

South Florida History and Distribution: This is very rare in South Florida, known only from the Miami Rock Ridge and the Florida Keys. Ranked as imperiled in Rare Plants of South Florida (Gann et al. 2002), using modern NatureServe criteria, we reranked this as critically imperiled in South Florida in September 2025.

SOUTH FLORIDA Cultivated Status: Cultivated

Comments: For a specimen image, visit the New York Botanical Garden Virtual Herbarium.

Synonyms: D. panicea of Hitchcock (1936) and others, not (Sw.) Urb.; Syntherisma filiforme, misapplied.

Other data on Digitaria filiformis var. dolichophylla available from :

Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
Digitaria filiformis var. dolichophylla has been found in the following 27 conservation areas :
Occurrence Native Status
A.D. Doug Barnes Park Present Native
Bahia Honda State Park Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
Big Cypress National Preserve Doubtfully Present
Bill Sadowski Park Present Native
Biscayne National Park Doubtfully Present
Chapman Field Park Present Native
Coral Reef Park Present Native
County Line Scrub, Miami-Dade County Reported
Crandon Park Presumed Extirpated Presumed Extirpated
Deering Estate at Cutler Present Native
Everglades National Park Present Native
Florida City Pineland Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
Fuchs Hammock Preserve Present Native
Larry and Penny Thompson Park Present Native
Ludlam Pineland Present Native
National Key Deer Refuge Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
Navy Wells Pineland Preserve Present Native
Ned Glenn Nature Preserve Present Native
Nixon Smiley Pineland Addition Present Native
Pine Ridge Sanctuary Present Native
Pine Shore Preserve Present Native
Quail Roost Pineland Present Native
Railhead Scrub Preserve Doubtfully Present
Rockdale Pineland Present Native
Sunny Palms Pineland Present Native
West Biscayne Pineland Present Native
Zoo Miami Present Native

Digitaria filiformis var. dolichophylla has been found in the following 3 counties :
Occurrence Native Status
Charlotte County Recorded as Present in Error
Miami-Dade County Native
Monroe County (Keys) Native

Digitaria filiformis var. dolichophylla has been found in the following 3 habitats :
Coastal Strand
Marl Prairie
Pine Rockland