Seedling
Hairy and lying on the ground. The leaf sheaths of crabgrass seedlings are tinged purple and are covered with long, stiff hairs.
Mature plant
Stem erect up to 1.2 m. Leaf blades and leaf sheathes sparse to densely soft-hairy. Seed head, fingerlike branches in a whorl. Crabgrass turns purple in the fall.
