| Poa | |
|---|---|
| Poa annua (Annual Meadow-grass) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pooideae |
| Genus: | Poa L. |
| Species | |
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About 500 species, see text. |
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Poa[1] 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. "Poa" is Greek for fodder. Poa are members of the Pooideae subfamily of the Poaceae family.
Bluegrass, which has green leaves, derives its name from the seed heads which are blue when the plant is allowed to grow to its natural height of two to three feet.[2] Kentucky Bluegrass, 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.
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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.[3] Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) can sometimes be considered a weed.[4]
According to Galen the roots of certain species are good for treating fresh wounds and bleeding. In the sixteenth century Poa grasses were used for inflammation of the kidney.[5]
Some of the Poa species are popular for gardens and for landscaping in New Zealand.
Lepidoptera whose caterpillars feed on Poa include:
Species include: