Smooth Meadow-grass

Smooth Meadow-grass

Taxobox
name = Kentucky Bluegrass


image_width = 240px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Poales
familia = Poaceae
genus = "Poa"
species = "P. pratensis"
binomial = "Poa pratensis"
binomial_authority = L.

"Poa pratensis", known as Smooth Meadow-grass or Kentucky Bluegrass, is a species of grass native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America.

The name Kentucky Bluegrass derives from its flower heads, which are blue when the plant is allowed to grow to its natural height of two to three feet. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE2D7143CF930A35755C0A965958260 What Makes Kentucky's Bluegrass Blue - New York Times - June 3, 1993] ]

"Poa pratensis" is a herbaceous perennial plant 30-70 cm tall (occasionally 90 cm). The leaves are narrow-linear, up to 20 cm long and 3-5 mm broad, smooth or slightly roughened, with a rounded to truncate ligule 1-2 mm long. The conical panicle is 10-20 cm long with 3-5 branches in the basal whorls; the oval spikelets are 3-6 mm long with 2-5 florets.

"Poa pratensis" is the type species of the grass family Poaceae.

There are two ill-defined subspecies:
*"Poa pratensis" subsp. "pratensis" - temperate regions
*"Poa pratensis" subsp. "colpodea" - Arctic

Cultivation and production

Since the 1950s/early-1960s 90% of Kentucky Bluegrass seed has been produced on specialist farms in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. [ [http://www.wkarc.org/Swrec/Research/CroppingSystems/index.asp Western Kansas Agricultural Resource Centers Bluegrass Production Report] ]

Hybridization with "Poa arachnifera"

During the 1990s, botanists began experimenting with producing hybrids of "P. pratensis" and "Poa arachnifera" (Texas bluegrass), with the goal of creating the ultimate drought-resistant lawn grass.

References

* [http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Poa&SPECIES_XREF=pratensis&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: "Poa pratensis"]
* [http://poa.ipk-gatersleben.de European "Poa" Database]


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