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Annual meadow grass

Poa annua

Summary 3

Annual meadow grass (poa annua) is also known as 'annual bluegrass' or simply 'poa'. It is a tufted annual grass with erect to procumbent flowering stems, up to 20 cm tall. The ligule of the uppermost leaf is blunt; 1-5mm. Leaf blades are 1-4 mm wide, flat or folded, hairless, with a boat-shaped tip; often wrinkled when young. Flowers are panicle lax to compact 1.8-8 cm long, with solitary or paired branches, spreading or reflexed at maturity; spikelets 3.5-7 mm long; 3-6-flowered; glumes unequal, 1.5-2.8 mm long; lemma 2.5-3.8 mm long. Fruit is dispersed by wind and animals; viability in the soil 1-5 years.

Additional Comments 4

Leaf emerges folded, youngest leaf folded in shoot. Older leaves are often crinkled in center. Tramlines on leaf. Flowering and fruiting throughout the year. Can be a short-lived perennial when creeping base roots at nodes.

Distribution on South Georgia 5

TBC

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Rasbak, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poa_annua.jpg
  2. (c) AnneTanne, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/78746377@N00/2253370954
  3. Adapted by stuwhiterod from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poa_annua
  4. Adapted by stuwhiterod from a work by (c) Kelvin Floyd, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
  5. (c) stuwhiterod, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

iNat Map

Group Grass
Category Non Native
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