''Poa nemoralis'', the wood bluegrass, is a
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
plant in the family
Poaceae
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
. The late-growing grass is fairly nutritious for livestock, which feed on it in the autumn, and it is used as a lawn grass for shady situations.
Description
It forms loose tufts, and is of a more delicate, slender appearance than other meadow grasses. It is slightly creeping. The leaves are narrow, tapering to a point. The ligules are short (0.5 mm). The stem is slender, high. The
panicle
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
is slender, loose and branched. The
spikelet
A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots.
Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet that ...
s are few and egg shaped. They have one to five flowers. This grass is in flower from June to August in the Northern Hemisphere. It can produce asexual seeds by means of
apomixis
In botany, apomixis is asexual reproduction without fertilization. Its etymology is Greek for "away from" + "mixing". This definition notably does not mention meiosis. Thus "normal asexual reproduction" of plants, such as propagation from cuttin ...
and can also reproduce vegetatively.
[
Because of the characteristic ]lamina
Lamina may refer to:
Science and technology
* Planar lamina, a two-dimensional planar closed surface with mass and density, in mathematics
* Laminar flow, (or streamline flow) occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption betwee ...
, similar to a stretched out arm, it is sometimes called "Wegweisergras" (signpost grass) in Germany.[
]
Distribution and habitat
Wood bluegrass is native to Europe, where its range extends from Portugal to Bulgaria, and Asia where its range extends from Iran to Japan. It has been introduced Australia and New Zealand, and to North America where it has become naturalised in southeastern Canada and northeastern United States.[Haeupler & Muer 2007: 672] It is generally distributed in Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
in dry woods, thickets and shady hedge banks on well drained soils. In its invasive range in America, it sometimes grows in coniferous forests, where its presence is thought to increase the risk of fires, and on floodplains, the banks of rivers and lakes, and disturbed sites.[ In the British Isles it is found throughout the United Kingdom but at more scattered locations in Ireland, where it may have been introduced.]
Footnotes
References
*
* (2007): Bildatlas der Farn- und Blütenpflanzen Deutschlands. ''Ulmer Verlag'' (in German)
* The Observers Book of Grasses, Sedges and Rushes. Frances Rose. pp. 46–47
* Grasses, Ferns, Mosses and Lichens. (1980) Phillips, Roger p64
External links
''Poa nemoralis''
photo
The Ohio State University: ''Poa nemoralis''Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plant Profile ''Poa nemoralis''Grass Manual Treatment
{{Taxonbar, from=Q158894
nemoralis
Grasses of Europe
Grasses of Asia
Grasses of North America
Flora of Europe
Flora of Asia
Flora of North America
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus