Poa nemoralis |
Poa wolfii |
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Eurasian woodland bluegrass, forest blue grass, interior bluegrass (ssp. interior), wood blue grass, woodland bluegrass, woods bluegrass (ssp. nemoralis) |
Wolf's bluegrass |
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Habit | Plants perennial; green or glaucous; densely tufted, not stoloniferous, not rhizomatous. | Plants perennial; not rhizomatous, not stoloniferous, loosely tufted. |
Culms | 30-80 cm, mostly erect, smooth below the panicles; nodes slightly compressed, 2-5 exserted, top node at 1/2 - 3/4 the culm length. |
25-90 cm. |
Sheaths | closed for 1/10 – 1/5 their length, terete, bases of basal sheaths glabrous, distal sheath lengths 0.45-1 (1.1) times blade lengths; ligules 0.2-0.8(1) mm, sparsely to densely scabrous, apices truncate, minutely ciliolate; blades 0.8-3 mm wide, mostly flat, appressed, abruptly ascending to spreading, straight or somewhat lax, apices narrowly prow-shaped. |
closed for 1/2 - 3/4 their length, smooth or sparsely scabrous, margins not ciliate; ligules 0.3-2.1 mm, smooth or sparsely scabrous, truncate to obtuse, ciliolate; blades 0.6-3.5 mm wide, flat. |
Basal branching | all or mostly extravaginal. |
mainly pseudointravaginal. |
Panicles | 7-16(20) cm, lengths usually 2.5-4 times widths at maturity, usually erect, lax in shade forms, narrowly lanceoloid to ovoid, slightly to moderately congested; nodes with 2-5 branches; branches ascending to widely spreading, fairly straight, slender to moderately stout, angled, angles moderately to densely scabrous. |
7.5-15(18) cm, lax, pyramidal, open, sparse; nodes with 1-3(5) branches; branches 3-8 cm, ascending, straight to spreading, angled, angles prominent, scabrous. |
Spikelets | 3-8 mm, lengths 2.5-3.5 times widths, narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, laterally compressed, usually not glaucous; florets (1)2-5; rachilla internodes usually shorter than 1 mm, smooth, muriculate, or scabrous, usually puberulent, infrequently hispidulous or glabrous. |
4-6.5 mm, laterally compressed; florets 2-5; rachilla internodes to 1 mm, smooth, glabrous. |
Glumes | subulate to narrowly lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels smooth or sparsely scabrous, apices sharply acute to acuminate; lower glumes 3-veined, long-tapered to a slender point, lengths 6.4-11 times widths; upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas; calluses webbed, hairs sparse, often short; lemmas 2.4-4 mm, proximal lemma widths less than 1/5 times lengths, narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins short-villous, lateral veins glabrous, obscure, intercostal regions smooth or muriculate, glabrous, margins glabrous, apices acute, usually partially bronze-colored; palea keels scabrous, intercostal regions glabrous; anthers 0.8-1.9 mm. |
1/2-1/3 the length of the adjacent lemmas, distinctly keeled, keels scabrous; lower glumes subulate to narrowly lanceolate, (1)3-veined; upper glumes shorter than or subequal to the lowest lemmas; calluses webbed; lemmas (2.5)3.2-4.7 mm, lanceolate, green, distinctly keeled, keels and marginal veins long-villous, hairs extending up almost the whole keel length, lateral veins prominent, intercostal regions smooth, minutely bumpy, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely softly puberulent, apices acute, blunt, or pointed, white, not bronze; palea keels softly puberulent at midlength, apices scabrous; anthers (0.5)0.8-1.2(1.5) mm. |
2n | = 28, 35, 42, 48, 50, 56. |
= 28. |
Poa nemoralis |
Poa wolfii |
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Distribution |
AK; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland
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AR; IA; IL; IN; MN; MO; OH; VA; WI
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Discussion | Introduced from northern Eurasia, Poa nemoralis is established primarily at low elevations in deciduous and mixed conifer/deciduous forests. It is now common in southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States, and is spreading in the west. It can be distinguished from P. glauca (p. 576) and P. interior (see next) by its consistently short ligules, high top culm node, relatively long flag leaf blades, and narrow glumes and lemmas. It is usually hexaploid. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Poa wolfii is an uncommon species that grows in boggy areas of eastern deciduous forests, primarily west of the Appalachian divide. It differs from P. sylvestris (p. 512) in having fewer branches, larger spikelets, and lemmas that are usually glabrous between the veins. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 24, p. 574. | FNA vol. 24, p. 514. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Stenopoa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Poa > subg. Poa > sect. Sylvestres |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | L. | Scribn. |
Web links |
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