witch grass

American  

noun

1. a panic grass, Panicum capillare, having a bushlike compound panicle, common as a weed in North America.

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Etymology

Origin of witch grass

1780–90, probably alteration of quitch grass ( def. )

Example Sentences

Hand-weeding may be necessary with aggressive plants such as witch grass and dandelions, both of which will regrow if chopped out, with some roots left in the soil.

From Washington Post • Jul. 18, 2017

For twelve years, while Elinor bore children,-Frost raised chickens, taught school, battled the grudging soil, fought back encroaching witch grass and sheep laurel.

From Time Magazine Archive

Oenothera, 147Old witch grass, 115Onagraceae, 147Orache, spreading, 124Orpine family, 138 O�val, about twice as long as broad, with regular curved outlines, broadly elliptical.

From Seeds of Michigan Weeds Bulletin 260, Michigan State Agricultural College Experiment Station, Division of Botany, March, 1910 by Beal, W. J. (William James)

Old as he is, he is tough as a pine knot, wiry as witch grass, with great powers of endurance, good eyesight, good teeth; he has seemed less than seventy till this year.

From A Cry in the Wilderness by Waller, Mary E. (Mary Ella)