Scientific Name:
Poa pratensis
Pronunciation:
POE-uh pruh-TEN-sis
Common Name:
Kentucky bluegrass
Family Name:
Poaceae
Plant Type:
Herbaceous perennial, Poales (grass-like)
Key ID Features:
Habit thatchy; rhizomes strong and multi branched; stolons absent; leaf vernation folded, blade soft, smooth on both sides, V-shaped to flat, 1-4mm wide, two parallel pale lines on either side of midrib, edges parallel but then tapering to a boat-shaped and rounded tip; auricles absent; ligule 0.2-0.6mm truncate, small trichomes on back; sheath green and smooth, sheath slightly compressed. Field ID terms: boat tip, duller, smooth top.
Habit:
Dense
Form:
Creeping / Mat-like
Texture:
Fine
Mature Height:
0.2 - 0.4m
Mature Spread:
0.1 - 0.3m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Africa, Central / west Asia, Europe
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun, Part sun/part shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
High
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
Number Of Petals:
0
Ovary Position:
Superior
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:
Jul, Aug, Sep
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:
Anthracnose, Fungal leaf spot, Mold, Rust
Specific Pests:
