What is "digitaria"

Digitaria \Digitaria\ n. a genus of plants including the crab grass ( Digitaria sanguinalis); finger grass.

Syn: genus Digitaria.

Digitaria is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and warm temperate regions. Common names include crabgrass, finger-grass, and fonio. They are slender monocotyledonous annual and perennial lawn, pasture, and forage plants; some are often considered lawn pests. Digitus is the Latin word for "finger", and they are distinguished by the long, finger-like inflorescences they produce.

Digitaria species occur in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions of both Hemispheres. Though some Digitaria species are weeds, others have uses, especially as food. The seeds, most notably those of fonio, can be toasted and ground into a flour, which can be used to make porridge or fermented to make beer. Fonio has been widely used as a staple crop in parts of Africa. It also has decent nutrient qualities as a forage for cattle.