smooth meadow grass (South Georgia Flora)

smooth meadow grass

Poa pratensis

Summary ²

Poa pratensis, commonly known as Kentucky bluegrass, smooth meadow-grass, or common meadow-grass, is a perennial species of grass native to practically all of Europe, northern Asia and the mountains of Algeria and Morocco. Although the species is spread over all of the cool, humid parts of the U.S., it is not native to North America. Early European colonists brought seed of Kentucky bluegrass to the New World in mixtures with other grasses. Poa pratensis

Tufted perennial grasses with flowering stems 10-60 cm tall, erect or bent below; P. pratensis has slender creeping rhizomes, P. trivialis roots at nodes to produce shortly creeping stolons. Ligule: P. pratensis has ligules up to 1 mm long with obtuse tips, P. trivialis has ligules 4-10 mm long with acute tips. Leaves: leaf blades 4-20 cm long, 2-5 mm wide; flat or folded, hairless, usually not transversely wrinkled; P. pratensis has smooth sheaths, P. trivialis usually has rough leaf sheaths. Flowers: panicle lax to rather compact, 4-10 cm long, with spreading branches arising 3-5 together, purplish or greyish to green; spikelets 4-6 mm long, 3-5-flowered; glumes unequal, the upper slightly longer; lemma 3-4 mm long; no awn; P. pratensis rough on the veins, P.trivialis not rough on the veins. Fruit: dispersed by wind, water and animals; viability in the soil 1-5 year.

Comments ³

Leaf emerges folded, youngest leaf folded in shoot
Tramline visible either side of leaf blade mid rib
Sheaths smooth, short ligule, folded smooth leaf, boat shape tip to the leaf. rhizomatous

Found on stream banks; around buildings. Resistant to drought, cold, grazing and trampling

Sources and Credits

(c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/35478170@N08/3884600006
Adapted by stuwhiterod from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poa_pratensis
Adapted by stuwhiterod from a work by (c) Kelvin Floyd, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

iNat Map

Group	Grass
Category	Non Native

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