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Poa annua

(Annual Blue Grass)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Zao Shu He

Common Names in Danish:

Enårig Rapgræs

Common Names in Dutch:

Straatgras, Tuintjesgras

Common Names in English:

Annual Blue Grass, Annual Bluegrass, Annual Meadow Grass, Annual Meadow-Grass, Walkgrass

Common Names in Estonian:

Murunurmikas

Common Names in Finnish:

Kylänurmikka

Common Names in French:

Pâturin Annuel

Common Names in German:

Einjähriges Rispengras, Einjahrs-Rispengras (Austria), Spitzgras

Common Names in Greek:

Poa I Etisia

Common Names in Hebrew:

Sisanit Chad-Shenatit -

Common Names in Hungarian:

Nyári Perje

Common Names in Italian:

Fienarola Annuale, Gramigna Delle Vie, Gramigua Delle Vie

Common Names in Japanese:

Suzume No Katabira

Common Names in Norwegian:

Tunrapp

Common Names in Polish:

Wiechlina Roczna, Wyklina Roczna

Common Names in Portuguese:

Cabelo De Cão

Common Names in Russian:

Mjatlik Odnoletnij, мятлик однолетний

Common Names in Spanish:

Espiguilla, Espiguilla Anual, Hierba De Punta, Poa Anual, Porotito De Invierno (Argentina)

Common Names in Swedish:

Vitgröe, Vitgröe

Common Names in Turkish:

Yillik Salkim Otu

Description

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Genus Poa

Annuals or perennials . Culm bases infrequently swollen, or with bulbous sheath bases; new shoots intravaginal or extravaginal , rarely (in China) pseudointravaginal, intravaginal but with reduced or rudimentary lower leaf blades and weakly differentiated prophyl. Uppermost culm leaf sheath closed from 1/20th to entire length ; ligule hyaline , membranous or infrequently papery ; blade flat, folded, or involute , abaxially keeled , adaxially with 1 groove on either side of the midvein , apex prow-tipped. Inflorescence a terminal panicle; branches 1-9 per node; flowers all bisexual , or mixed bisexual and female (rarely male), with distal female flowers within spikelets , or with partially to wholly female spikelets or inflorescences. Spikelets laterally compressed , florets (1-) 2-8(-10), rachilla disarticulating above glumes and between florets, uppermost floret vestigial; vivipary sometimes present; glumes mostly strongly keeled, unequal, or subequal , lower glume 1- or 3-veined, upper glume 3(or 5) -veined; lemmas laterally compressed, usually distinctly keeled, 5(-7) -veined, distal margins and apex membranous, apex awnless, rarely minutely mucronate ; floret callus short, truncate , blunt , glabrous or webbed (with a dorsal tuft of woolly hairs ), rarely with a line of hairs around base of lemma; palea subequal or infrequently to 2/3 as long as lemma, not gaping , keels green, distinctly separated, usually scabrid , smooth in Poa sect. Micrantherae, sometimes pilulose to villous , margins usually smooth, glabrous. Lodicules 2. Stamens 3, anthers sometimes vestigial. Ovary glabrous. Caryopsis oblong to fusiform , triangular to oval in cross section , sometimes grooved , free or adhering to the palea. 2n = 14-266. x = 7.

More than 500 species: throughout Arctic and N and S temperate regions and extending to most subtropical and tropical mountains, in habitats such as temperate forests, mountain slopes , grasslands, wetlands, steppes , alpine areas and tundra , deserts, and around human habitation, on acidic to sub-basic or subsaline, dry to wet soils, from sea level to the upper limits of vegetation; 81 species (14 endemic, at least one introduced ) in China.

Poa includes many species useful and important for forage , soil stabilization, and lawns, and several widespread weeds . Five of six recognized subgenera are present in China. (1) Poa subg. Arctopoa: stout plants with thick rhizomes, scabrid to ciliate lemma margins, and glabrous calluses, found in subsaline to subalkaline wetlands. (2) Poa subg. Ochlopoa: plants with bulbous sheathed culm bases (spikelets then often viviparous), or if not bulbous then commonly quite smooth throughout, with shortly villous palea keels and no callus hairs, sometimes annuals. (3) Poa subg. Pseudopoa: slender annuals with scabrid-angled panicle branches, shortish glumes, uppermost culm sheaths closed for 1/15-1/10 their length, glabrous calluses, and scabrid rachillas. (4) Poa subg. Poa: the largest and most diverse subgenus , including annuals and perennials, with or without rhizomes, but generally with the uppermost culm sheaths closed for over 1/4 their length. (5) Poa subg. Stenopoa: commonly tufted perennials generally with the uppermost culm sheaths closed for only 1/15-1/5(-1/4) their length, with mainly extravaginal shoots, mostly without rhizomes, mostly with panicle branches that are scabrid angled from the base, and with 3-veined first glumes.

Some species have races with florets that develop into bulbils that can readily send down roots as soon as they drop from the inflorescence (i.e. , they are viviparous). Viviparous spikelets often have fairly normal-looking proximal florets. Pubescence on the lemmas and calluses of such florets is often poorly developed relative to that in normal spikelets, or absent. Identification is easiest with plants having normal spikelets.

Hybridization and facultative apomixis are common in some subgenera, especially Poa subg. Poa and P. subg. Stenopoa, and the vast majority of species studied are polyploid.[1]

Physical Description

Species Poa annua

Annuals , sometimes over wintering , infrequently stoloniferous . Culms loosely tufted , erect or oblique , often decumbent , often geniculate , soft, 6-30(-45) cm tall, smooth , nodes 1 or 2(or 3), 1(or 2) exserted. Leaf sheath slightly compressed , thin, smooth, uppermost closed for ca. 1/3 of length ; blade light to dark green, flat or folded, thin, 2-12 cm × (0.8-) 1-3.5 mm, margins slightly scabrid , apex acutely prow-tipped; ligules 0.6-3 mm, abaxially smooth, glabrous , apex obtuse , margin irregularly dentate , smooth. Panicle open, moderately congested , broadly ovoid to pyramidal , (1-) 3-10 cm, as long as wide; branches ascending , spreading , or a few reflexed , 1 or 2(-3) per node, smooth, longest with usually 3-5 spikelets in distal 1/2. Spikelets ovate to oblong , dark to light green, (3-) 4-5.5 mm, florets 3-5, distal fertile florets often female; vivipary absent; rachilla internodes 0.5-1.5 mm, smooth, glabrous, hidden or exposed; glumes unequal, smooth or rarely keeled with hooks, lower glume lanceolate and acute to subflabellate and obtuse, 1.5-2(-3) mm, 1-veined, upper glume elliptic , 2-3(-4) mm, 3-veined, the margin angled; lemmas ovate, 2.2-3.5 mm, apex and margins broadly membranous, intermediate veins prominent , keel and marginal , and usually intermediate, veins villous in the lower 1/2, rarely glabrous throughout; callus glabrous; palea keels smooth, densely pilulose to short villous . Anthers 0.6-1 mm, usually at least 2 × as long as wide, or vestigial. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Apr-Jul. 2n = 28. [source]

Poa annua is easily distinguished from other short-anthered Poa, other than P. infirma, by the annual habit, absence of a web on the callus, and the near absence of hooks on the panicle branches and spikelet bracts, in combination with densely pubescent palea keels that lack hooked prickle hairs at the apex. Plants with glabrous florets are sporadically encountered. [source]

Plants perennating by short stolons rooting at the nodes appear to develop repeatedly but sporadically at various elevations with prolonged, cool, mesic growing conditions, possibly in response to trampling. These are sometimes placed in var. reptans. Such plants have been recorded from Yunnan. [source]

Habit: Graminoid

Flowers: Bloom Period: April, May. • Flower Color: pale green

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 6-12" tall.

Habitat

Weed of disturbed , often moist and shady ground ; near sea level to 4800 m. [2].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 4,653 meters (0 to 15,266 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Annual , Biennial

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Ochlopoa annua (L.) H. Scholz • P. annua var. reptans Haussknecht • P. crassinervis Honda. • Poa annua f. reptans (Haussknecht) T. Koyama • Poa annua var. aquatica Aschers. • Poa annua var. reptans Hausskn.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Poa

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 106 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

P. abbreviata (Northern Bluegrass) · P. alpina (Alpine Bluegrass) · P. alpina f. vivipara (Alpine Bluegrass) · P. alsodes (Grove Bluegrass) · P. annua (Annual Blue Grass) · P. annua f. reptans (Creeping Bluegrass) · P. arachnifera (Texas Blue Grass) · P. arctica grayana (Arctic Bluegrass) · P. arida (Plains Bluegrass) · P. arnowiae (Wasatch Bluegrass) · P. atropurpurea (San Bernardino Bluegrass) · P. autumnalis (Autumn Bluegrass) · P. badensis (Baden´s Bluegrass) · P. bigelovii (Bigelow Bluegrass) · P. bolanderi (Bolander's Bluegrass) · P. bulbosa (Bulbous Blue Grass) · P. capillaris (Lace Grass) · P. chaixii (Broadleaf Bluegrass) · P. chapmaniana (Chapman's Bluegrass) · P. chinensis (Chinese Sprangletop) · P. cita (Silvery Tussock-Grass) · P. colensoi (Blue Tussock) · P. compressa (Canada Bluegrass) · P. confinis (Coastline Bluegrass) · P. cornae (St. John's Bluegrass) · P. curtifolia (Little Mountain Bluegrass) · P. cusickii epilis (Cusick's Bluegrass) · P. cusickii purpurascens (Cusick's Bluegrass) · P. cuspidata (Early Bluegrass) · P. douglasii (Douglas' Bluegrass) · P. douglasii douglasii (Douglas' Bluegrass) · P. eminens (Largeflower Speargrass) · P. fendleriana albescens (Mutton Grass) · P. fendleriana longiligula (Muttongrass) · P. fernaldiana fernaldiana (Wavy Bluegrass) · P. gaspensis (Gaspe Peninsula Bluegrass) · P. glauca (Glaucous Bluegrass) · P. hartzii (Hartz Bluegrass) · P. hartzii hartzii (Hartz's Bluegrass) · P. howellii (Howell's Bluegrass) · P. hybrida (Hybrid Meadow Grass) · P. infirma (Weak Bluegrass) · P. interior interior (Inland Bluegrass) · P. keckii (Keck's Bluegrass) · P. kelloggii (Kellogg's Bluegrass) · P. labillardieri (Blue Tussock Grass) · P. lanata var. lanata (Wool Bluegrass) · P. lanata var. vivipara (Wool Bluegrass) · P. laxa (Wavy Bluegrass) · P. laxiflora (Looseflower Bluegrass) · P. leibergii (Leiberg's Bluegrass) · P. leptocoma (Bog Bluegrass) · P. lettermanii (Letterman Bluegrass) · P. limosa (Lassen County Bluegrass) · P. macrantha (Seashore Bluegrass) · P. macrocalyx (Largeglume Bluegrass) · P. mannii (Mann's Bluegrass) · P. marcida (Withered Bluegrass) · P. napensis (Napa Bluegrass) · P. nemoralis (Forest Blue Grass) · P. nervosa (Wheeler Bluegrass) · P. nervosa var. nervosa (Nerved Bluegrass) · P. occidentalis (New Mexico Bluegrass) · P. pallida (Cusick's Bluegrass) · P. paludigena (Bog Bluegrass) · P. palustris (Fowl Blue Grass) · P. paucispicula (Alaska Bluegrass) · P. piperi (Piper's Bluegrass) · P. porsildii (Porsild's Bluegrass) · P. pratensis (Kentucky Bluegrass) · P. pratensis angustifolia (Narrow-Leaf Meadow Grass) · P. pratensis colpodea (Kentucky Bluegrass) · P. pratensis pratensis (Kentucky Bluegrass) · P. pratensis 'Greenplay' (Meadow Grass 'greenplay') · P. pratensis 'Kaitos' (Meadow Grass 'kaitos') · P. pratensis 'Scotts Pure Premium' (Kentucky Bluegrass Mix) · P. pringlei (Pringle's Bluegrass) · P. pseudoabbreviata (Shortcoal Bluegrass) · P. reflexa (Nodding Bluegrass) · P. rhizomata (Rhizome Bluegrass) · P. saltuensis (Oldpasture Bluegrass) · P. sandvicensis (Hawai'i Bluegrass) · P. secunda (Big Bluegrass) · P. secunda subsp. secunda (Big Bluegrass) · P. sieberiana (Grey Tussock-Grass) · P. sierrae (Sierra Bluegrass) · P. siphonoglossa (Kauai Bluegrass) · P. stebbinsii (Stebbin's Bluegrass) · P. stenantha (Largesprout Bluegrass) · P. strictiramea (Big Bend Bluegrass) · P. suksdorfii (Western Bluegrass) · P. supina (Bluegrass) · P. sylvestris (Woodland Bluegrass) · P. tenera (Slender Tussock-Grass) · P. tenerrima (Delicate Bluegrass) · P. tolmatchewii (Siberian Bluegrass) · P. tracyi (Tracy's Bluegrass) · P. trivialis (Rough Bluegrass) · P. trivialis trivialis (Rough Bluegrass) · P. trivialis 'Winterplay' (Winterplay Rough Bluegrass)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 14, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Guanghua Zhu, Liang Liu, Robert J. Soreng & Marina V. Olonova "Poa". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 1, 225, 257, 312, 315. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Poa annua". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 261, 263, 264, 287, 290. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 165.500 meters (542.979 feet), Standard Deviation = 299.340 based on 20,000 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 4/18/2012