The following quote is from the short story 1934年的逃亡 by Su Tong.
陈宝年心中长出一棵灰暗的狗尾巴草，他在祖宗像前跪拜天地的时候，不时蜷起尖锐的五指，狠掐女人伸给他的手。
What does it mean to grow a Setaria_viridis in one's heart?
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4 Answers
狗尾巴草 is a kind of weed against which peasants need to fight all the time, and it is famous for its strong vitality. So peasants and poets see 狗尾巴草 as a tough enemy. For a long time, 狗尾巴草 is called 莠 and had appeared in ancient poems and articles. Of course, its image is bad and negative.
In the paragraph you mentioned, 灰暗 plus 狗尾巴草 together imply evil thoughts.
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1Yes, these weeds are like politicians; the more you hate them, the faster they grow. Jun 15, 2022 at 3:13
狗尾巴草 Setaria viridis ，古稱「莠」，令人想到「良莠不齊」
Therefore, 在人們心中印象便是不好
The hidden meanings of 狗尾草 are as follow:
"狗尾草很普通，不被人注意，也不被重视，只是一棵默默无闻的野草，但是它的生命力十分顽强，它的寓意是坚忍、暗恋，不被人了解的爱、艰难的爱，狗尾巴草寓意着喜欢一个人却不敢表白，它还象征着坚忍的品格，不为环境所屈服，不可轻言放弃。在生活中我们也应该学习狗尾巴草的品格和精神，不言弃、坚强、坚忍"
If you read through the story, you shall be able to pick one implication that fits the best.
心中长出一棵灰暗的狗尾巴草
We can take the whole phrase to mean a sin growing from the bottom of his heart.
灰暗的狗尾巴草 just gives us a bad feeling/impression about his mind and here is metaphorically representing a (dark)sin.
