Scientific Name:
Poa trivialis
Pronunciation:
POE-uh tri-VEE-ah-liss
Common Name:
rough bluegrass, rough-stalked meadow grass
Family Name:
Poaceae
Plant Type:
Herbaceous perennial, Poales (grass-like)
Key ID Features:
Habit tufted; rhizomes absent; stolons thin, rooting at nodes; culm and sheath flattened and rough; leaf vernation folded, blade rough, glossy, bright green with glassy lower surface, V-shaped to flat, 1-4mm wide, tapering to a boat-shaped tip; auricles absent, margin entire to ciliate towards apex; ligules mostly 2-4mm, yellow-green, acute to truncate. Field ID terms: boat tip, summer stress vs. winter vibrant, puffy/ elevated crowns, reddish sheath.
Habit:
Arching
Form:
Creeping / Mat-like, Vase
Texture:
Fine
Mature Height:
< 0.1m
Mature Spread:
< 0.1m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Europe, North America
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun only if soil kept moist, Part sun/part shade, Filtered shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Landscape Uses:
Golf green, Lawn - sports field
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Grass-like
Arrangement:
Alternate, Basal
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Parallel venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Shapes:
Linear
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Sheathing
Margins:
Ciliate, Entire
Additional Info:
Leaves folded in the bud
Inflorescence Type:
Spikelet, Panicle-like
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Not showy, Green-yellow, Green
Flower Time at Peak:
May, Jun
Additional Info:
Spikelets of 2 or 3 florets arranged in an open, oblong shaped panicle.
Fruit Type:
Grain (caryopsis)
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Jul, Aug
Additional Info:
2-3mm long, tips pointed; lemma 2.5-3mm long, 5-nerved, prominant keeled mid-nerve, tip folded over palea, short hairs at base; palea with U-shaped groove in center; 5,600 seeds per gram
Bark or Stem Colour:
Green
Organ Modifications:
Runners (or stolons)
Maintenance:
High
Pest Susceptibility:
Anthracnose, Beetles or weevils, Caterpillar or cutworm, Fungal leaf spot, Heteroptera - true bugs
