quack grass (redirected from witch grass)

quack grass or couch grass, Old World perennial grass (Agropyron repens), now widely distributed and in the United States a troublesome weed. It somewhat resembles a beardless wheat and has creeping, yellowish rootstalks, the joints of which, even though detached, are capable of producing new plants; thus quack grass is a good soil binder but extremely difficult to eradicate. The dried sweetish rootstalks have been used medicinally, and the foliage is useful for forage. Quack grass is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Cyperales, family Gramineae.

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couch grass

 or quack grass

Rapidly spreading grass (Agropyron repens) with flat, somewhat hairy leaves and erect flower spikes, native to Europe and introduced into other northern temperate areas for forage or erosion control. In cultivated land, it is considered a weed because of its persistence. Its long, yellowish-white rhizomes must be completely dug up to eradicate the plant because broken rhizomes generate new plants. Couch grass has been used in various home remedies in Europe, and the rhizomes have been eaten during periods of famine.