Poa nemoralis

Species of grass in the family Poaceae

Poa nemoralis

Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Plantae
Clade:  | Tracheophytes
Clade:  | Angiosperms
Clade:  | Monocots
Clade:  | Commelinids
Order:  | Poales
Family:  | Poaceae
Subfamily:  | Pooideae
Genus:  | Poa
Species:  |

P. nemoralis

Binomial name
Poa nemoralis

Synonyms[1]

List

*     * Agrestis alba (L.) Lunell
* Agrostis alba L.
* Agrostis aristata Sinclair ex Steud.
* Agrostis conferta Willd. ex Steud.
* Agrostis cremenica Besser ex Steud.
* Agrostis disticha Schweigg. ex Steud.
* Aira elodes Brign.
* Aira helodes Steud.
* Aira petraea Bellardi ex Steud.
* Catabrosa helodes Roem. & Schult.
* Decandolia alba (L.) T.Bastard
* Eragrostis tenuis Steud.
* Festuca asperrima Hornem. ex Steud.
* Festuca depauperata Bertol.
* Milium album (L.) Lag.
* Paneion nemorale (L.) Lunell
* Poa acmocalyx Keng f. & L.Liu
* Poa adjarica (Sommier & Levier) A.P.Khokhr.
* Poa alexeenkoi (Tzvelev) Czerep.
* Poa asperula Steud.
* Poa caespitosa Poir.
* Poa carpatica subsp. supramontana Bernátová, Májovský, Kliment & Topercer
* Poa cinerea Vill.
* Poa debilis Thuill.
* Poa dubia Suter
* Poa eligulata Pavlov
* Poa firma Wormsk. ex Roem. & Schult.
* Poa firmula (Gaudin) Gray
* Poa glaucescens Roth
* Poa gracilescens Schrad.
* Poa hypanica Prokudin
* Poa juncea Suter
* Poa juncoides Gaudin
* Poa kumgansanii Ohwi
* Poa lapponica Prokudin
* Poa lapponica subsp. acmocalyx (Keng f. & L.Liu) Olonova & G.H.Zhu
* Poa lapponica subsp. pilipes (Keng f. ex Shan Chen) Olonova & G.H.Zhu
* Poa lapponica var. turiensis Tzvelev
* Poa marginata Willd.
* Poa muralis Honck.
* Poa nemoralis subsp. alexeenkoi Tzvelev
* Poa nemoralis f. glaucantha (Schleich. ex Gaudin) Ghisa & Beldie
* Poa nemoralis subsp. hylaea Galanin
* Poa nemoralis subsp. hypanica (Prokudin) Tzvelev
* Poa nemoralis subsp. lapponica (Prokudin) Tzvelev
* Poa nemoralis var. loiseaui Portal
* Poa nemoralis var. parca N.R.Cui
* Poa nemoralis var. polyclada Portal & Loiseau
* Poa nemoralis var. popovii Tzvelev
* Poa nemoralis subsp. subpolaris (Kuvaev) Tzvelev
* Poa nemoralis var. zhitomirica Tzvelev
* Poa parnellii Bab.
* Poa pilipes Keng f. ex Shan Chen
* Poa polymorpha Wibel
* Poa pseudocaesia Schur
* Poa pyramidalis Clairv.
* Poa rariflora Desf.
* Poa recta Willd. ex Steud.
* Poa salebrosa Panz. ex Steud.
* Poa scheuchzeri Suter
* Poa scopulorum Butters & Abbe
* Poa subpolaris Kuvaev
* Poa tenuis Clairv.
* Poa tenuis Elliott
* Poa tormentuosa Butters & Abbe
* Poa variegata Host ex Kunth
* Vilfa alba (L.) P.Beauv.
* Vilfa neglecta P.Beauv. ex Steud.

Poa nemoralis, the wood bluegrass, is a perennial plant in the family Poaceae. The late-growing grass is fairly nutritious for livestock, which feed on it in the autumn, and it is used as a lawn grass for shady situations.

## Description

[edit]

It forms loose tufts, and is of a more delicate, slender appearance than other meadow grasses. It is slightly creeping. The leaves are narrow, tapering to a point. The ligules are short (0.5 mm). The stem is slender, 30–60 cm (12–24 in) high. The panicle is slender, loose and branched. The spikelets are few and egg-shaped. They have one to five flowers. This grass is in flower from June to August in the Northern Hemisphere. It can produce asexual seeds by means of apomixis and can also reproduce vegetatively.[2]

Because of the characteristic lamina, similar to a stretched out arm, it is sometimes called "Wegweisergras" (signpost grass) in Germany.[3]

## Distribution and habitat

[edit]

Wood bluegrass is native to Europe, where its range extends from Portugal to Bulgaria, and Asia where its range extends from Iran to Japan. It has been introduced in Australia and New Zealand, and to North America where it has become naturalised in southeastern Canada and northeastern United States.[2] Shade tolerant, it is often found in forests and grows up to half a metre tall.[3] It is generally distributed in Britain in dry woods, thickets and shady hedge banks on well drained soils. In its invasive range in America, it sometimes grows in coniferous forests, where its presence is thought to increase the risk of fires, and on floodplains, the banks of rivers and lakes, and disturbed sites.[2] In the British Isles, it is found throughout the United Kingdom but at more scattered locations in Ireland, where it may have been introduced.[4]

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ "Poa nemoralis L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
2. ^ a b c "Poa nemoralis (wood bluegrass)". Invasive Species Compendium. CABI. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
3. ^ a b Haeupler & Muer 2007: 672
4. ^ "Poa nemoralis". Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.

## References

[edit]

* Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
* Haeupler, Henning & Muer, Thomas (2007): Bildatlas der Farn- und Blütenpflanzen Deutschlands. Ulmer Verlag ISBN 978-3-8001-4990-2 (in German)
* The Observers Book of Grasses, Sedges and Rushes. Frances Rose. pp. 46–47
* Grasses, Ferns, Mosses and Lichens. (1980) Phillips, Roger p64

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Poa nemoralis.

* Poa nemoralis photo
* Swedish Museum of Natural History: Poa nemoralis
* The Ohio State University: Poa nemoralis
* Jepson Manual Treatment
* USDA Plant Profile Poa nemoralis
* Grass Manual Treatment

Taxon identifiers

Poa nemoralis|

* Wikidata: Q158894
* Wikispecies: Poa nemoralis
* APDB: 159460
* APNI: 90523
* BioLib: 42431
* BOLD: 124649
* Calflora: 6681
* CoL: 4KMBQ
* EoL: 1114028
* EPPO: POANE
* EUNIS: 192334
* FoC: 200026017
* FoIO: poanem
* GBIF: 2704300
* GrassBase: imp08404
* GRIN: 28982
* iNaturalist: 78649
* IPNI: 320039-2
* IRMNG: 10684106
* ISC: 120579
* ITIS: 41146
* MichiganFlora: 2199
* NatureServe: 2.902879
* NBN: NBNSYS0000002550
* NCBI: 29659
* NZOR: cbb69f1c-c1c7-4662-8428-1a5d962b8590
* NZPCN: 3069
* Open Tree of Life: 814183
* PFI: 11358
* Plant List: kew-436600
* PLANTS: PONE
* POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:320039-2
* Tropicos: 25509897
* VASCAN: 7886
* WisFlora: 4544
* WoI: 2744
* WFO: wfo-0000893068
* WoRMS: 993881