Where did crabgrass get its name?

Popular culture and taxonomic systems are the sources from which crabgrass gets its name. There is no consensus as to why the common name exists although some suggest that it acknowledges marine grass origins in salt marshes (frequented by crabs) or resemblances between legs sprawling from a crab's body like tendrils from a crown. The scientific name recognizes a finger-like comparison since the genus name Digitaria comes from the Latin digitus for "finger."