Meadow bluegrass
Meadow bluegrass | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Panicle of the meadow bluegrass |
||||||||||||
Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Poa pratensis | ||||||||||||
L. |
The meadow bluegrass ( Poa pratensis ) is one of the most widespread and most frequently sown sweet grasses (Poaceae) in Europe for lawns and pastures .
features
The loose, turf-forming , perennial grass usually reaches heights of 20 to 60 cm and its color is fresh green to gray-green. Some subspecies are much smaller or have blue-green frosting. The leaves are about 5 mm wide, with some subspecies also significantly narrower. Its edges are parallel and drawn together at the top in a short, hood-shaped point. The ligula is present, but rarely more than 2 mm long.
The loosely upright panicle , pyramidal in outline, consists of numerous 4 to 6 mm long spikelets . The panicle is often purple, in the mountains it is also blackish. The lowest panicle branches are usually made up of four, sometimes three or five. The two lemmas are clearly five-nerved and usually hang together with their shaggy hair. The rooting consists of long underground creeping shoots, fine tufted shoot roots and ascending leaf and shoot shoots. The flowering period lasts from May to July.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 28, 50-78 or 124.
distribution
The meadow bluegrass occurs in the temperate areas of the entire northern hemisphere ( Eurasia , North Africa , North America ). To the south, the area extends to northern Mexico. It was introduced to Australia and Antarctica. In Central Europe it is widespread and common, from the lowlands to the high Alpine regions.
It likes to grow on summer-warm, nutrient-rich, not too wet and not too dry clay soils in meadows , on alpine pastures , on roadsides or also in ruderal areas . It is a species of character of the class Molinio-Arrhenatheretea. It rises in the Alps to an altitude of 2376 meters above sea level.
Systematics
The meadow bluegrass is also combined with related species to form an aggregate. Other authors put these related species as subspecies of the meadow bluegrass. These are:
- Poa angustifolia L. as Poa pratensis subsp. angustifolia (L.) Gaudin
- Poa humilis Ehrh. ex Hoffm. as Poa pratensis subsp. irrigata (Lindm.) Lindb. f. (Syn .: Poa subcaerulea Sm. , Poa athroostachya Oett. )
Others
The meadow bluegrass is one of the most valuable forage grasses and is very often sown on pastures. Most lawn mixes also contain a good percentage, as it is relatively hard-wearing and tolerates drought well.
Due to its frequency, it is one of the main causes of hay fever during its heyday .
There are numerous subspecies and forms, some of which can differ considerably in appearance and usability.
The species Poa pratensis has given its name to the bluegrass music genre with its blue-green leaves, especially in Kentucky due to the nature of the soil .
The bluegrass is often attacked by bluegrass .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . 8th edition. Stuttgart, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 2001. ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 . Page 224.
- ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Poa pratensis. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved November 13, 2016.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Erhard Dörr, Wolfgang Lippert : Flora of the Allgäu and its surroundings. Volume 1, IHW, Eching 2001, ISBN 3-930167-50-6 , p. 187.
- ↑ Recognize - understand - avoid plant diseases : Puccinia poae-nemoralis GH Otth.
Web links
- European Poa Database
- Meadow bluegrass. In: FloraWeb.de.
- Distribution map for Germany. In: Floraweb . Poa pratensis agg.
- Distribution map for Germany. In: Floraweb . Poa pratensis s. st.
- Meadow bluegrass . In: BiolFlor, the database of biological-ecological characteristics of the flora of Germany.
- Profile and distribution map for Bavaria . In: Botanical Information Hub of Bavaria .
- Poa pratensis aggr., Map for distribution in Switzerland In: Info Flora , the national data and information center for Swiss flora .
- Distribution of Poa pratensis s. st. in the northern hemisphere according to: Eric Hultén , Magnus Fries: Atlas of North European vascular plants 1986, ISBN 3-87429-263-0
- Thomas Meyer: Data sheet with identification key and photos at Flora-de: Flora von Deutschland (old name of the website: Flowers in Swabia )