Poa

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the grass family Poaceae}}

{{Other uses|POA (disambiguation)}}

{{Automatic_taxobox

|image=Poa annua.jpg

|image_caption=Poa annua (annual meadow-grass)

|display_parents=4

|parent_authority=Dumort.

|taxon=Poa

|authority=L. (1753)

|synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets=true

|title={{small|Synonymy}}

|Anthochloa {{small|Nees & Meyen}}

|Aphanelytrum {{small|Hack.}}

|Austrofestuca {{small|(Tzvelev) E.B.Alexeev}}

|Dasypoa {{small|Pilg.}}

|Dissanthelium {{small|Trin.}}

|Eremopoa {{small|Roshev.}}

|Graminastrum {{small|E.H.L.Krause}}

|Libyella {{small|Pamp.}}

|Lindbergella {{small|Bor}}

|Lindbergia {{small|Bor, nom. illeg.}}

|Neuropoa {{small|Clayton}}

|Ochlopoa {{small|(Asch. & Graebn.) H.Scholz}}

|Paneion {{small|Lunell, nom. superfl.}}

|Panicularia {{small|Heist. ex Fabr., nom. superfl.}}

|Parodiochloa {{small|C.E.Hubb.}}

|Phalaridium {{small|Nees & Meyen}}

|Poagris {{small|Raf., nom. superfl.}}

|Stenochloa {{small|Nutt.}}

|Tovarochloa {{small|T.D.Macfarl. & But}}

|Tzvelevia {{small|E.B.Alexeev}}

}}

|synonyms_ref=[https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30001404-2 Poa L.] Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2 July 2023.

}}

Image:Bluegrass-stem.jpg

Image:Ruwbeemdgras Poa trivialis ligula.jpg (rough meadow-grass), showing the ligule structure]]

PoaFrom Greek πόα "grass, meadow." 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 ({{wikt-lang|grc|πόα}}) is Greek for 'fodder'. Poa are members of the subfamily Pooideae of the family Poaceae.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=126123 Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 257 早熟禾属 zao shu he shu Poa Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 67. 1753][http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=126123 Flora of Pakistan][http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/floraspecie.php?genere=poa Altervista Flora Italiana, genera Poa] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201021952/http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/floraspecie.php?genere=poa |date=2015-02-01 }} includes photos and distribution maps for several speciesSoreng, 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{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30001404-2 |title=Poa L. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |date=2022 |accessdate=23 January 2022}}

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).[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE2D7143CF930A35755C0A965958260 What Makes Kentucky's Bluegrass Blue.] New York Times. June 3, 1993.]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: 1–191Zon, A. P. M. v. 1992. Graminées du Cameroun. Wageningen Agricultural University Papers 92–1(2): 1–557

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.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, IstanbulGibbs 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