Poa

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Poa
Poa annua (Annual Meadow-grass)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Poa L.
Species
About 500 species, including: Poa abbreviata - Short Bluegrass Poa alpigena - Northern Meadow-grass Poa alpina - Alpine Meadow-grass Poa alsodes - Grove Bluegrass Poa angustifolia - Narrow-leaved Meadow-grass Poa annua - Annual Meadow-grass Poa arachnifera - Texas Bluegrass Poa arctica - Arctic Meadow-grass Poa badensis Poa bulbosa - Bulbous Meadow-grass Poa cita - Silver Tussock Poa compressa - Flattened Meadow-grass Poa chaixii - Broad-leaved Meadow-grass Poa chathamica Poa colensoi - Blue Tussock Poa douglasii - Douglas Bluegrass Poa dura Poa flabellata Poa flexuosa - Wavy Meadow-grass Poa glauca - Glaocous Meadow-grass Poa infirma - Early Meadow-grass Poa iridifolia Poa labillardieri Poa nemoralis - Wood Meadow-grass Poa palustris - Swamp Meadow-grass Poa pratensis - Smooth Meadow-grass Poa seconda - Sandberg's Bluegrass Poa subcaerulea - Spreading Meadow-grass Poa supina - Creeping Meadow-grass Poa trivialis - Rough Meadow-grass

• For uses of the initials, go to POA
• For the city in the São Paulo state in Brazil, go to Poá

Poa is a genus of about 500 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly North America), tussock (some New Zealand species), and speargrass.

One species, Smooth Meadow-grass Poa pratensis, is the type species of the family Poaceae.

The genus Poa includes both annual and perennial species. Most are monoecious, but a few are dioecious (separate male and female plants). The leaves are narrow, folded or flat, sometimes bristled, and with the basal sheath flattened or sometimes thickened, with a blunt or hooded apex and membranaceous ligule.

Poa species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Chionodes psiloptera.

[edit] Cultivation and uses

Many of the species are important pasture plants, used extensively by grazing livestock. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is the most extensively used cool-season grass used in lawns, sports fields, and golf courses in the United States. However, annual bluegrass (Poa annua) is considered a weed and is undesirable in turf. [1]