Lawn Weeds of Central Oklahoma
Identify common weeds in Moore and Norman lawns, learn when they show up, and how to control them.
Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua)
Poa annua
Annual bluegrass is a light-green, clumping grass that shows up in dormant Bermuda lawns over winter and produces white seed heads in spring.
Barnyardgrass
Echinochloa crus-galli
Barnyardgrass is a coarse summer annual that grows in wet, disturbed soil. It's more common in new lawns and low spots.
Black Medic
Medicago lupulina
Black medic looks like clover but has small yellow flowers and black seed pods. It thrives in dry, compacted, low-nitrogen soil.
Broadleaf Plantain
Plantago major
Broadleaf plantain forms flat rosettes of wide, ribbed leaves and tolerates compacted soil and traffic.
Buckhorn Plantain
Plantago lanceolata
Buckhorn plantain has narrow, ribbed leaves and tall flower stalks topped with cone-shaped heads.
Carolina Geranium
Geranium carolinianum
Carolina geranium has deeply divided, hand-shaped leaves and beak-like seed pods.
Carpetweed
Mollugo verticillata
Carpetweed forms flat, circular mats in thin turf, garden beds, and bare soil during summer.
Common Chickweed
Stellaria media
Common chickweed forms dense, bright-green mats in cool weather, especially in shady, moist spots.
Common Lespedeza
Kummerowia striata
Common lespedeza is a wiry, clover-like summer weed that thrives in compacted, low-nitrogen soil.
Common Mallow
Malva neglecta
Common mallow has round, lobed leaves and a deep taproot. It's common in new lawns and disturbed areas.
Common Purslane
Portulaca oleracea
Common purslane is a succulent weed with thick, fleshy leaves that thrives in heat and newly disturbed soil.
Common Ragweed
Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Common ragweed is a major hay fever plant. Its pollen peaks in late summer and fall.
Corn Speedwell
Veronica arvensis
Corn speedwell is a small, hairy winter annual with tiny blue flowers that's common in thin, dormant lawns.
Curly Dock
Rumex crispus
Curly dock has long leaves with wavy edges and a large taproot. It turns rusty brown when it goes to seed.
Cutleaf Evening Primrose
Oenothera laciniata
Cutleaf evening primrose has deeply lobed leaves and pale yellow flowers that open in the evening.
Dallisgrass
Paspalum dilatatum
Dallisgrass is a clumping perennial grass that grows faster than Bermuda, leaving coarse tufts and tall seed stalks a day or two after mowing.
Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
Dandelions are perennial weeds with a deep taproot and yellow flowers that turn into wind-blown seed heads.
Dollarweed (Pennywort)
Hydrocotyle spp.
Dollarweed has round, coin-shaped leaves and is a sign that a lawn is getting too much water.
Field Bindweed
Convolvulus arvensis
Field bindweed is a twining vine with deep roots that wraps around plants and fences. It's one of the hardest weeds to eliminate.
Field Sandbur
Cenchrus spinifex
Sandburs produce painful spiny burs that stick to feet, pets, and clothing. They thrive in thin turf and sandy soils.
Goosegrass
Eleusine indica
Goosegrass is a tough, flat-growing grassy weed with a silvery-white center. It loves compacted soil and high-traffic spots.
Green Kyllinga
Kyllinga brevifolia
Green kyllinga is a low, mat-forming sedge that spreads by rhizomes, often in wet or overwatered lawns.
Ground Ivy (Creeping Charlie)
Glechoma hederacea
Ground ivy is a creeping mint-family weed that forms dense mats in shady, moist areas and has a strong minty smell when mowed.
Hairy Bittercress
Cardamine hirsuta
Hairy bittercress is a small winter annual that shoots seeds several feet when its pods are touched.
Henbit
Lamium amplexicaule
Henbit is one of the most noticeable spring weeds in Oklahoma, covering dormant lawns with small purple flowers in late winter.
Horseweed (Marestail)
Erigeron canadensis
Horseweed is a tall, upright weed common in vacant lots and neglected yards. Regular mowing keeps it out of lawns.
Johnsongrass
Sorghum halepense
Johnsongrass is a tall, aggressive perennial grass with thick rhizomes. In lawns that are mowed regularly it stays short, but it shows up along fences, edges, and neglected areas.
Large Crabgrass
Digitaria sanguinalis
Large crabgrass is the most common summer grassy weed in Oklahoma lawns. It sprouts in spring, spreads flat in thin areas, and dies at the first frost after dropping thousands of seeds.
Lawn Burweed (Spurweed)
Soliva sessilis
Lawn burweed is a low winter annual that forms spiny burs in spring, making lawns painful to walk on barefoot.
Little Barley
Hordeum pusillum
Little barley is a winter annual grass with bristly, barley-like seed heads that appear in spring in thin or dormant lawns.
Mouse-Ear Chickweed
Cerastium fontanum
Mouse-ear chickweed is a fuzzy, perennial cousin of common chickweed that survives mowing and returns each year.
Musk Thistle
Carduus nutans
Musk thistle is a spiny biennial with large, nodding purple flowers. It's a noxious weed in Oklahoma and common in pastures and neglected lots.
Nimblewill
Muhlenbergia schreberi
Nimblewill is a fine, wiry perennial grass that forms light-green patches. It's slow to green up in spring, so patches stay brown longer than surrounding turf.
Poison Ivy
Toxicodendron radicans
Poison ivy causes itchy rashes from the oil urushiol. It grows as a vine on trees and fences or as a low shrub along edges.
Prickly Lettuce
Lactuca serriola
Prickly lettuce has spiny leaf midribs and milky sap. It's common in vacant lots and edges, and mowing keeps it out of lawns.
Prostrate Knotweed
Polygonum aviculare
Prostrate knotweed is a wiry, low weed that grows in compacted soil along paths, driveways, and play areas.
Purple Deadnettle
Lamium purpureum
Purple deadnettle is a close relative of henbit with triangular, purple-tinged upper leaves.
Purple Nutsedge
Cyperus rotundus
Purple nutsedge is similar to yellow nutsedge but with darker green leaves and purplish seed heads. It forms chains of tubers and is harder to control.
Rescuegrass
Bromus catharticus
Rescuegrass is a cool-season grassy weed that grows fast in late winter and spring, standing out above dormant Bermuda.
Shepherd's Purse
Capsella bursa-pastoris
Shepherd's purse is a winter annual with heart-shaped seed pods that appears in thin and dormant lawns.
Smooth Crabgrass
Digitaria ischaemum
Smooth crabgrass looks like large crabgrass but has hairless blades and stays lower to the ground. It's controlled the same way.
Spotted Spurge
Euphorbia maculata
Spotted spurge is a low, mat-forming weed that pops up in hot weather in thin turf, cracks, and beds.
Star-of-Bethlehem
Ornithogalum umbellatum
Star-of-Bethlehem is a bulb that escaped from gardens and spreads in lawns, with grass-like leaves that have a white stripe.
Virginia Buttonweed
Diodia virginiana
Virginia buttonweed is a creeping perennial that thrives in wet lawns and can root from stem pieces, so mowing spreads it.
White Clover
Trifolium repens
White clover spreads by creeping stems and forms patches with white flower heads. It often signals low nitrogen in the soil.
Wild Garlic
Allium vineale
Wild garlic grows in clumps from bulbs and stands out above dormant lawns in winter and early spring. It has a garlic smell when crushed.
Wild Onion
Allium canadense
Wild onion looks like wild garlic but has solid, flat leaves and an onion smell.
Wild Violet
Viola spp.
Wild violets have heart-shaped leaves and purple or white flowers. They're very tough to control, especially in shade.
Yellow Foxtail
Setaria pumila
Yellow foxtail is a summer annual grass with bushy, yellowish seed heads that look like a fox's tail.
Yellow Nutsedge
Cyperus esculentus
Yellow nutsedge is a fast-growing sedge with triangular stems that sticks up above the lawn days after mowing. It spreads from underground tubers.
Yellow Woodsorrel (Oxalis)
Oxalis stricta
Yellow woodsorrel has clover-like heart-shaped leaflets and small yellow flowers. It spreads by seed pods that pop open.
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