''Poa pratensis'', commonly known as Kentucky bluegrass (or blue grass), smooth meadow-grass, or common meadow-grass, is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

species of

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

native to practically all of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

North Asia North Asia or Northern Asia () is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geography, geographical terms and consists of three federal districts of Russia: Ural Federal District, Ural, Siberian Federal District, Siberian, and the Far E ...

and the mountains of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. There is disagreement about its native status in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, with some sources considering it native and others stating the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

brought the seeds of Kentucky bluegrass to the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

in mixtures with other grasses. It is a common and incredibly popular lawn grass in North America with the species being spread over all of the cool, humid parts of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In its native range, ''Poa pratensis'' forms a valuable pasture plant, characteristic of well-drained, fertile soil. It is also used for making

lawn A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...

s in parks and

gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

and has established itself as a common invasive weed across cool moist

temperate climates In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

like the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

and the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

. When found on native

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, for example, it is considered an unwelcome exotic plant, and is indicative of a disturbed and degraded landscape.

Taxonomy

''Poa pratensis'' was one of the many species described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in his landmark work ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genus, genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial nomenclature ...

'' in 1753. is

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

for

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food ...

and ''pratensis'' is derived from ,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

. The name Kentucky bluegrass derives from its flower heads, which are blue when the plant is allowed to grow to its natural height of . ''Poa pratensis'' is the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of the grass family

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

. Five subspecies are accepted. *''Poa pratensis'' subsp. ''dolichophylla'' – Corsica *''Poa pratensis'' subsp. ''jordanii'' – eastern France *''Poa pratensis'' subsp. ''oligantha'' – western Siberia *''Poa pratensis'' subsp. ''pratensis'' – temperate North America and Eurasia; Yemen, the Philippines, Java, and New Guinea *''Poa pratensis'' subsp. ''turfosa'' – Baltic States and northern and Central European Russia

Description

''Poa pratensis'' is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial plant tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

have boat-shaped tips, narrowly linear, up to long and broad, smooth or slightly roughened, with a rounded to truncate ligule long. The conical

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

is long, with 3 to 5 branches in the basal whorls; the oval

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the inflorescences of grasses, sedges and some other monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the sp ...

s are long with 2 to 5

floret This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

s, and are purplish-green or grey. They are in flower from May to July, compared to annual meadowgrass ('' Poa annua'') which is in flower for eight months of the year. ''Poa pratensis'' has a fairly prominent mid-vein (center of the blade). The

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above g ...

is extremely short and square-ended, making a contrast with annual meadowgrass ('' Poa annua'') and rough meadowgrass ('' Poa trivialis'') in which it is silvery and pointed. The Kentucky bluegrass is a dark green/blue compared to the apple-green color of ''Poa annua'' and ''Poa trivialis''. The

rootstock A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to ...

is creeping, with runners (

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s). The broad, blunt leaves tend to spread at the base, forming close mats.

Ecology

PP Na Popovickem kopci 007 cf Myrmus miriformis

''Poa pratensis'' is among the food plants of the caterpillars of the meadow brown ('' Maniola jurtina''), gatekeeper ('' Pyronia tithonus''), and pepper-and-salt skipper butterflies; the common sun beetle (''

Amara aenea ''Amara aenea'' is a ground beetle common in almost the whole of Europe and Northern Asia. Its range covers also parts of Northern Africa. It is known as the common sun beetle. ''A. aenea'' adults are predators that eat other insects, such as th ...

'') (adults feed on the developing seeds), the

leafhopper Leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family (biology), family Cicadellidae: based on the type genus ''Cicadella''. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or ...

'' Eupelix cuspidata'', the grassbug '' Myrmus miriformis'' (feeds on young blades and developing seeds), and the club-horned grasshopper ('' Aeropedellus clavatus'') (feeds on the blades, seeds, and glumes). ''Poa pratensis'' is host to a number of

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

, including ''

Claviceps purpurea ''Claviceps purpurea'' is an ergot fungus that grows on the ear (botany), ears of rye and related cereal and forage plants. Consumption of Cereal, grains or seeds contaminated with the survival structure of this fungus, the ergot sclerotium, can ...

'', which causes

ergotism Ergotism (pron. ) is the effect of long-term ergot poisoning, traditionally due to the ingestion of the alkaloids produced by the '' Claviceps purpurea'' fungus—from the Latin "club" or clavus "nail" and for "head", i.e. the purple club-h ...

when consumed, '' Drechslera poae'', '' Epichloë typhina'', '' Phaeoseptoria poae'', '' Puccinia brachypodii'' var. ''poae-nemoralis'', '' Stagonospora montagnei'', '' Stagonospora nodorum'' and '' Wojnowicia hirta''.Helgi Hallgrímsson & Guðríður Gyða Eyjólfsdóttir (2004)
''Íslenskt sveppatal I - smásveppir'' [Checklist of Icelandic Fungi I - Microfungi
Fjölrit Náttúrufræðistofnunar. Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands [Icelandic Institute of Natural History]. ISSN 1027-832X

Cultivation and production

The Central Kentucky Blue Grass Seed Company Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Since the 1950s and early 1960s, 90% of Kentucky bluegrass seed in the United States has been produced on specialist farms in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and Washington. During the 1990s, botanists began experimenting with hybrids of ''Poa pratensis'' and Texas bluegrass ('' P. arachnifera''), with the goal of creating a

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

and heat-resistant lawn grass. In warm climates, such hybrids may remain green year-round. Bella Bluegrass is a brand-named dwarf variant of ''Poa pratentis'' developed by the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. It has relatively deep roots and propagates relatively rapidly horizontally from its root system but grows to only in above-ground height, basically eliminating the need for

mowing A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reaper ...

lawns that use it. It cannot be reproduced by seed and thus depends on sod plugs or sprigging for its production.

NFL playing surfaces

* Cleveland Browns Stadium in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

* Empower Field at Mile High in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Acrisure Stadium Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

MLB playing surfaces

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

Oriole Park at Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the ...

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Progressive Field Progressive Field is a baseball stadium in the downtown area of Cleveland, Ohio. It is the ballpark of the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball and, together with Rocket Arena, is part of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex. ...

Angel Stadium Angel Stadium is a ballpark in Anaheim, California, United States. Since its opening in 1966, it has been the home venue of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), who relocated from Los Angeles to Anaheim following the 1965 seas ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the home of Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals. It has a seating capacity of 44,383, ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Home to Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, the stadium opened April 3, 2004. It is named after Citizens Financi ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

American Family Field American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Located southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 in Wisconsin, Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard, it is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewe ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Nationals Park Nationals Park is a baseball stadium along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard (Washington, D.C.), Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals. Since its completion in 2008, it wa ...

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Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball park, baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, in the Boroughs of New York, borough of Queens, New York City, United States. Opened in 2009, Citi Field is the home of Major League Baseball's New York M ...

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium (Detroit), Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, t ...

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* Guaranteed Rate Field in

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Target Field Target Field is a baseball stadium in the North Loop, Minneapolis, historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. Since its opening in 2010, the stadium has been the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. It is named for Tar ...

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Oakland Coliseum Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, often shortened to the Oakland Coliseum, is a multi-purpose stadium in Oakland, California, United States. It serves as part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, located next to Oakland Arena. In 2 ...

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Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995 Major League Baseball season, 1995, the park is located in Denver's LoDo, Lower Downtown neighborhood, ...

(Kentucky Bluegrass/Perennial Ryegrass Blend) * T-Mobile Park in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

(Kentucky Bluegrass/Perennial Ryegrass Blend) *

Great American Ball Park Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds, and opened on March 31, 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), the Reds' fo ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

(Kentucky Bluegrass Blend) *

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

in Chicago, Illinois (Kentucky Bluegrass/Clover Blend) *

Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Stadium () (nicknamed "The K") is a ballpark located in Kansas City, Missouri, and the home of Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals. It is next door to Arrowhead Stadium, home of National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Bo ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

(Kentucky Bluegrass/Perennial Ryegrass Blend)

Gallery

File:Poa pratensis (Billeder af nordens flora 1917ff., v2 0383) clean, no-description.jpg File:Poa pratensis (3883809159).jpg File:Poa pratensis plant1 (7398746202).jpg File:Poa pratensis sl6.jpg File:Poa pratensis detail.jpeg, Closeup of flowers File:Poa pratensis sl19.jpg File:Poa pratensis sl12.jpg File:Poa pratensis seeds 20101113.jpg

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cosmopolitan species Grasses of Africa Grasses of Asia Grasses of Europe Grasses of North America Lawn grasses Plants described in 1753 pratensis Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Grasses of Lebanon