Poa

Contains 12 accepted taxa overall.

Characteristics
Poa L.
POACEAE
BLUEGRASS
View specimens within this family
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Classification
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POALES
Poa
Citation
POA Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 67. 1753.
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TYPE: Poa pratensis Linnaeus Lectotypified by Nash, in Britton & A. Brown, Ill. Fl. N. U.S., ed. 2. 1: 252. 1913.
Species
Scientific Name Common Name Herbarium Specimens Status Photos
Poa alsodes Woodland Bluegrass
Poa annua Speargrass, Six-weeks Grass, Annual Bluegrass
Poa arachnifera Texas Bluegrass
Poa autumnalis Autumn Bluegrass
Poa chapmaniana Chapman's Bluegrass
Poa compressa Canada Bluegrass
Poa cuspidata Early Bluegrass
Poa infirma Weak Bluegrass
Poa palustris Fowl Bluegrass, Fowl Meadow-grass
Poa pratensis ssp. pratensis Kentucky Bluegrass, Junegrass, Speargrass
Poa saltuensis Old-pasture Bluegrass
Poa sylvestris Forest Bluegrass
Identification Key
1.  Annual, 2-30(45) cm long; leaf blades 2-10 cm long, 1-3(6) mm wide; inflorescence 1-10 cm long; spikelets 2-5 mm long; anthers 0.6-1.1 mm long
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1.  Perennial, 5-120 cm long; leaf blades 1.5-25 cm long, 0.5-5 mm wide; inflorescence 2-20 cm long; spikelets 3-8.2 mm long, the calluses subtending the lemmas glabrous to densely villous; anthers 1-2.7 mm long
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2.  Calluses subtending the lemmas glabrous; anthers 3, 0.6-1.1 mm long
P. annua
2.  Calluses subtending the lemmas villous; anthers 1, 0.1-0.3 mm long
P. chapmaniana
3.  Rhizomatous
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3.  Cespitose
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4.  Dioecious; calluses subtending the lemmas glabrate (staminate plants) or villous (pistillate plants); anthers 1.6-2.7 mm long (or vestigial)
P. arachnifera
4.  Monoecious; calluses subtending the lemmas villous; anthers 1-2 mm long
P. pratensis
5.  Inflorescence nodes mostly with 1-2(4) branhces; spikelets (3)5-8 mm long; calluses subtending the lemmas glabrous (rarely sparsely, short-villous)
P. autumnalis
5.  Inflorescence nodes mostly with (2)3-10 branches; spikelets 2.5-4.4 mm long, calluses subtending the lemmas villous
P. sylvestris
Genus Synonyms
Synonym Full Citation Basionym Type
No synonyms found.