Family:
Poaceae Barnhart
Genus:
Poa L.

Poa alsodes A.Gray

This species is accepted, and its native range is E. Canada to N. Central & E. U.S.A.

[GB]
Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose. Culms 30-60 cm long. Culm-internodes smooth. Lateral branches lacking. Leaves mostly basal. Leaf-sheaths smooth; glabrous on surface. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1 mm long. Leaf-blades 6-15 cm long; 1.5-3 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface smooth. Leaf-blade margins scaberulous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle; embraced at base by subtending leaf. Panicle open; pyramidal; 10-20 cm long. Primary panicle branches spreading; 3-5 -nate; 4-8 cm long. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 2-3 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets ovate; laterally compressed; 5 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus woolly.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 2-3 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets ovate; laterally compressed; 5 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus woolly.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; 2.5 mm long; 0.66-0.75 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume ovate; 3-3.5 mm long; 0.75-0.9 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; 1-keeled; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma ovate; 4 mm long; membranous; much thinner above; keeled; 5 -veined. Lemma midvein pubescent; hairy below. Lemma apex acute. Palea 1 length of lemma. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Lodicules 2; membranous. Anthers 3; 0.5-0.7 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp. Hilum punctiform.
Distribution
North America: eastern Canada, north-central USA, northeast USA, and southeast USA.
Reference
Poeae. Gr Indiana 1994.

Native to:

Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Poa alsodes A.Gray appears in other Kew resources:

First published in Manual, ed. 2: 562 (1856)

Accepted by

  • Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2007). Flora of North America North of Mexico 24: 1-908. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
  • Werier, D. (2017). Catalogue of the Vascular plants of New York state Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 27: 1-542. New York Botanical Garden.

Literature

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2007). Flora of North America North of Mexico 24: 1-908. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.

  • GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0