Poa[2] is a
genus of about 570
species of
grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some
New Zealand species), and speargrass. Poa (πόα) is
Greek for '
fodder'. Poa are members of the subfamily
Pooideae of the family
Poaceae.[3][4][5][6][7]
Bluegrass, which has green leaves, derives its name from the seed heads, which are blue when the plant is allowed to grow to its natural height of two to three feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters).[8][9][10]
The genus Poa includes both
annual and
perennial species. Most are
monoecious, but a few are
dioecious (separate male and female plants). The
leaves are narrow, folded or flat, sometimes bristled, and with the basal sheath flattened or sometimes thickened, with a blunt or hooded apex and membranaceous
ligule.[11][12][13]
According to second-century physician
Galen, the roots of certain species are good for treating fresh wounds and bleeding. In the sixteenth century, Poa grasses were used to treat
inflammation of the kidney.[16]
Some of the Poa species are popular for gardens and for landscaping in
New Zealand.
^Soreng, R. J. & P. M. Peterson. 2012. Revision of Poa L. (Poaceae, Pooideae, Poeae, Poinae) in Mexico: new records, re-evaluation of P. ruprechtii, and two new species, P. palmeri and P. wendtii. PhytoKeys 15: 1–104
^"Poa L."Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
^Longhi-Wagner, H. M. 1987. Gramineae. Tribo Poeae, in Fl. Ilust. Rio Grande do Sul. Boletim do Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul 41: 1–191
^Zon, A. P. M. v. 1992. Graminées du Cameroun. Wageningen Agricultural University Papers 92–1(2): 1–557
^Cabi, E. & M. Doğan. 2012. Poaceae. 690–756. In A. Güner, S. Aslan, T. Ekim, M. Vural & M. T. Babaç (eds.) Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi. Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını, Istanbul
^Gibbs Russell, L. W., M. Koekermoer, L. Smook, N. P. Barker, H. M. Anderson & M. J. Dallwitz. 1990. Grasses of Southern Africa. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa 58: i–ix,.
^Negritto, M. A. & A. M. Antón. 2000. Revisión de las especies de Poa (Poaceae) del noroeste argentino. Kurtziana 28(1): 95–136