Scientific Name:
Poa compressa
Pronunciation:
POE-uh
Common Name:
Canada bluegrass
Family Name:
Poaceae
Plant Type:
Herbaceous perennial, Poales (grass-like)
Key ID Features:
Stems flattened; leaf blades flat, most 1.5-4mm wide and 6-10cm long; ligules 1-3mm long, tips round, margins and lower surface not smooth.
Habit:
Dense
Form:
Creeping / Mat-like
Texture:
Fine
Mature Height:
0.2 - 0.4m
Mature Spread:
0.1 - 0.3m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Europe
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Acidic
Landscape Uses:
Golf green, Lawn - sports field
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Grass-like
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Summer:
Dark-green
Shapes:
Linear
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Sheathing
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
Leaves folded in bud.
Inflorescence Type:
Spikelet, Panicle-like
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Colour (petals):
Showy, Green, Purple, Dark-red
Flower Time at Peak:
May, Jun
Additional Info:
Spikelets with 3 to 5 florets; arranged in an open, pyramidal shaped inflorescnce with main branching in wholes of mostly 5.
Fruit Type:
Grain (caryopsis)
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Jun, Jul, Aug
Additional Info:
2-3mm long, tips pointed; lemma 2.5-3mm long, 5-nerved, prominant keeled mid-nerve; usually hairy edges of palea to tip; 4,800 grains per gram
Bark or Stem Colour:
Green
Organ Modifications:
Rhizomes
Pest Susceptibility:
Beetles or weevils, Caterpillar or cutworm, Virus
Specific Pests:
