Poaceae

Echinochloa colona

Common Names: Barnyard grass

Plant Form: Tufted annual grass. Size: Up to 1 m tall. Stem: Cylindrical, hairless, with streaks, reddish purple or green, with smooth nodes. Leaves: Flat, up to 15 cm long, no ligule (joint structure), often reddish at base, hairless, with purplish stripes across leaf blades. Flowers: Green to purplish with many spikelets in a neat row. Fruit and Seeds: Elliptical 2 mm long seeds. Habitat: Cropland, gardens, roadsides, neglected land, waterways. Distinguishing Features: Purplish stripes along leaves. Spikelets in neater rows than Common barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli). Impacts: Outcompetes with rice crops, alters understory vegetation.

Grows flat when young, occasionally with stripes

Likes wet areas

Seed heads are without bristles

Erect foliage