Crabgrass

is the first plant obtained in Zombopolis in ''Plants vs. Zombies 2. ''He was first revealed on the launch of Zombopolis, and the developers later made a "Behind the Seeds" video for him, detailing his abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and tips for proper use.

Crabgrass is a low to the ground area-of-effect plant, meaning he can't be eaten, but only affects zombies that also occupy his tile. When planted, Crabgrass will deal a minimum of 100 DPS to any zombies on his tile. If a zombie is touching his tile, their movement will be slowed to 90% of their normal speed. The more Crabgrass are planted, the more damage they deal when planted, and their slowing effect grows more effective. He can deal a maximum of 200 DPS, and slow a zombie to 40% of their normal speed.

Origins
Crabgrass is based off of the |Digitaria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitaria |Digitaria. His plant-food power is a reference to the real-life ability of digitaria to spread to anywhere their roots touch. His ability to slow zombies is a reference to how tedious and time-consuming it is to remove digitaria once they get out of hand.

History
Crabgrass is unlocked after the player beats Day 1 of Zombopolis, and can only be planted on the ground (cannot be planted on planks in the Pirate Seas or on Lily Pads).

Strategies
Crabgrass is a plant with only two abilities, but can be used in nearly any situation. Its damage when planted is an effective way to diminish crowds of weak zombies, and its slowing effect is helpful for nearly everything.

If one wishes to use Crabgrass offensively, they should first keep some plant food in reserves. Once a large group of zombies or a Flag rolls around, plant a Crabgrass on the largest group of zombies, and then use plant food on it. Each of the Crabgrass made by the plant food ability will deal maximum damage, quickly eliminating the horde.

On the other end of the spectrum, a lawn full of Crabgrass can immobilize or at the very least slow many zombies. If you plant a Crabgrass one tile ahead of a zombie, it can serve like a Stallia, only reusable. The drawback to it has to be that it can't be spammed early on, due to its longer recharge and high cost. But after a slow crawl, having a board of Crabgrass is incredibly useful on more difficult levels.

Trivia

 * This is, as of now, the only plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2 that only slows zombies instead of stuns or freezes.