''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass.

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepted the following species: *'' Agrostis ambatoensis'' Asteg. * ''Agrostis'' × ''amurensis'' Prob. *'' Agrostis anadyrensis'' Soczava *'' Agrostis angrenica'' (Butkov) Tzvelev * ''Agrostis'' × ''aquitanica'' Romero Zarco & Romero García *'' Agrostis arvensis'' Phil. *'' Agrostis atlantica'' Maire & Trab. *'' Agrostis australiensis'' Mez * ''Agrostis'' × ''avatschensis'' Prob. *'' Agrostis balansae'' (Boiss.) Tzvelev *''

Agrostis barikii ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species , Plants of the World Onlin ...

'' P.Agnihotri & D.Prasad *'' Agrostis basalis'' Luces *'' Agrostis bergiana'' Trin. *'' Agrostis bettyae'' S.W.L.Jacobs * ''Agrostis'' × ''bjoerkmannii'' Widén *''

Agrostis blasdalei ''Agrostis blasdalei'' is a species of grass known by the common name Blasdale's bent grass. It is endemic to the coast of northern California, where it grows in habitat along the immediate coastline, such as dunes and bluffs. Description It is ...

'' Hitchc. *''

Agrostis boormanii ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species , Plants of the World Onlin ...

'' Vickery *''

Agrostis bourgaei ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species , Plants of the World Onlin ...

'' E.Fourn. *''

Agrostis boyacensis ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species , Plants of the World Onlin ...

'' Swallen & García-Barr. *''

Agrostis brachiata ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species , Plants of the World Onlin ...

'' Munro ex Hook.f. *''

Agrostis brachyathera ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species , Plants of the World Onlin ...

'' Steud. *''

Agrostis breviculmis ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species , Plants of the World Onlin ...

'' Hitchc. *''

Agrostis burmanica ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species , Plants of the World Onlin ...

'' Bor *''

Agrostis calderoniae ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species , Plants of the World Onlin ...

'' Acosta *'' Agrostis canina'' L. *''

Agrostis capillaris ''Agrostis capillaris'', the common bent, colonial bent, or browntop, is a rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial in the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Eurasia and has been widely introduced in many parts of the world. Colonial be ...

'' L. (common bent, browntop) *''

Agrostis carmichaelii ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a Genetically modified organis ...

Agrostis wacei ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species , Plants of the World Onlin ...

'' C.E.Hubb. *'' Agrostis zenkeri'' Trin.

Formerly placed here

Hundreds of species formerly listed in the genus ''Agrostis'' have been moved to other genera, including ''

Achnatherum ''Achnatherum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the grass family, Poaceae. It includes 20 species of needlegrass native to temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Several needlegrass species have been switched between ''Achnatherum'' and genus ''St ...

'', '' Agrostula'', '' Aira'', '' Alloteropsis'', '' Alpagrostis'', '' Apera'', '' Arundinella'', '' Calamagrostis'', '' Chionochloa'', '' Chloris'', '' Cinna'', '' Colpodium'', '' Crypsis'', '' Cynodon'', '' Deschampsia'', '' Dichelachne'', '' Digitaria'', '' Eremochloa'', '' Eriochloa'', '' Eustachys'', '' Gastridium'', '' Graphephorum'', '' Gymnopogon'', '' Lachnagrostis'', '' Leptochloa'', '' Muhlenbergia'', '' Pentameris'', '' Phippsia'', '' Piptatherum'', '' Poa'', '' Polypogon'', '' Puccinellia'', '' Reimarochloa'', '' Relchela'', '' Schismus'', '' Sporobolus'' and '' Zingeria''. Former species include: * '' Agrostis curtisii'' (bristle bent) → '' Alpagrostis setacea'' * '' Agrostis humilis'' → '' Podagrostis humilis'' * '' Agrostis magellanica'' → '' Polypogon magellanicus'' * '' Agrostis thurberiana'' → '' Podagrostis thurberiana'' * ''Agrostis truncatula'' → '' Agrostula truncatula''

Uses

Some species of bents are commonly used for

lawn A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...

grass. This is a desirable grass for golf course teeing areas, fairways, and greens. Bentgrass is used in turf applications for its numerous advantages: it can be mowed to a very short length without damage, it can handle a great amount of foot traffic, it has a shallow root system that is thick and dense allowing it to be seeded and grow rather easily, and it has a pleasing, deep green appearance. The name "bent" refers to the shallow roots, which bend just below the surface of the soil to propagate laterally.

Creeping bent

'' Agrostis stolonifera'' is the most commonly used species of ''Agrostis''. Historically, it was often called Orcheston long grass, after a village on Salisbury Plain, England. It is cultivated almost exclusively on golf courses, especially on putting greens. Creeping bent aggressively produces horizontal stems, called stolons, that run along the soil's surface. These allow creeping bent to form dense stands especially when mown at low mowing heights and outcompete bunch-type grass and broadleaf weeds. As such, if infested in a home lawn and mown at higher mowing heights, it can become a troublesome weed problem. The leaves of the bentgrass are long and slender. It can quickly take over a home lawn if it is not controlled and has very shallow roots. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and Monsanto genetically engineered creeping bent to be glyphosate-tolerant under Monsanto's Roundup Ready trademark, as "one of the first wind-pollinated, perennial, and highly outcrossing transgenic crops". In 2003, Scotts planted it as part of a large (about 160 ha) field trial in central Oregon near

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. In 2004, its pollen was found to have reached wild growing bentgrass populations up to 14 kilometres away. Cross-pollinating '' Agrostis gigantea'' was even found at a distance of 21 kilometres. Scotts could not remove all genetically engineered plants and in 2007, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service fined them $500,000 for non-compliance with Plant Protection Act regulations.

Common bent

'', or colonial bent, was brought to America from Europe. This was the type of grass that was used on the lawns of most estates. It is the tallest of the bents with very fine texture and like most bent grasses grows very densely. Although this species has been used on golf courses and sporting fields it is better suited for lawns. Colonial bent is fairly easy to grow from seeds and fertilization of the lawn is not as intense. This grass also takes longer to establish than creeping bent. However it does not require the intense maintenance.

Velvet bent

'' Agrostis canina'' gets its name for the velvet appearance that this grass produces. It has the finest texture of all the bent grasses. This grass was used in Europe for estate lawns and golf courses because it could be cut so short. Velvet bent grass requires similar upkeep and maintenance to creeping bent. Velvet bent has recently had a resurgence in the UK due to the high demands on greens from inclement weather and speed expectations. This species also has a lighter color than the two previous species.

Butterfly food plant

Butterflies whose caterpillars feed on ''Agrostis'' include: * Zabulon skipper, ''Poanes zabulon''

References

External links

Interactive Key to ''Agrostis'' of North America
{{Authority control Lawn grasses Poaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus