UW Burke Herbarium species comparison

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Poa arida

Poa compressa

flat-stem blue grass
Habit Glabrous, rhizomatous perennial, sometimes also stoloniferous, the culms 2-4 dm. tall, flattened and 2-edged.
Leaves

Sheaths open to near the base;

ligules 0.5-1.5 mm. long, truncate to rounded, pubescent, entire;

blades 2-4 mm. broad, flat to folded, usually glabrous; the tips prow-like but rather sharply pointed.
Flowers

Inflorescence a compact panicle 3-9 cm. long;

spikelets 3- to 6-flowered;

glumes up to 3 mm. long, subequal, the second broader;

lemmas strongly keeled, 2.5-3.5 mm. long, 5-nerved, pubescent on the keel and marginal nerves;

paleas slightly shorter than the lemmas, 2-keeled.

Poa arida

Poa compressa
Flowering time June-August
Habitat Waste ground, roadsides, open woods and meadows, usually where moist.
Distribution
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Introduced from Europe
Conservation status Not of concern
Sibling taxa
P. alpina, P. annua, P. arctica, P. bolanderi, P. bulbosa, P. compressa, P. confinis, P. curtifolia, P. cusickii, P. fendleriana, P. glauca, P. howellii, P. infirma, P. interior, P. laxiflora, P. leibergii, P. leptocoma, P. lettermanii, P. macrantha, P. marcida, P. ×multnomae, P. nemoralis, P. nervosa, P. palustris, P. paucispicula, P. pratensis, P. secunda, P. stenantha, P. suksdorfii, P. trivialis, P. unilateralis, P. wheeleri
P. alpina, P. annua, P. arctica, P. bolanderi, P. bulbosa, P. confinis, P. curtifolia, P. cusickii, P. fendleriana, P. glauca, P. howellii, P. infirma, P. interior, P. laxiflora, P. leibergii, P. leptocoma, P. lettermanii, P. macrantha, P. marcida, P. ×multnomae, P. nemoralis, P. nervosa, P. palustris, P. paucispicula, P. pratensis, P. secunda, P. stenantha, P. suksdorfii, P. trivialis, P. unilateralis, P. wheeleri
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the University of Washington's Burke Herbarium.



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