Texas bluegrass
Poa arachnifera Torr.
Images
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Morphology
- Culm
- Erect, slightly flattened, hollow, glabrous.
- Blades
- Few, firm, folded to flat, 1.2 to 12 inches long, to 1/6 inch wide; tips boat-shaped.
- Sheath
- Long, loose, more or less flattened, slightly keeled, closed at base.
- Ligule
- Pointed, to 1/6 inch long.
- Inflorescence
- Panicle, erect, dense, contracted, 2 to 6 inches long, .4 to 1.6 inch wide, lowest node with 2-5 branches; branches ascending, crowded, light greenish, spikelet-bearing to base, occasionally interrupted below.
- Spikelets
- Variable, 2 forms; glumes greenish, pointed, first glume 1-3-nerved, second glume usually 3-nerved; staminate spikelets 2-7-flowered, mostly 1/6 to 1/4 inch long; lemmas nearly glabrous except for sparse tuft of cobwebby hairs at base; pistillate spikelets 1-5-flowered, 1/5 to 2/5 inch long; lemmas with dense tuft of long cobwebby hairs at base.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Pastures, prairies, and roadsides; calcareous or sandy clay soils.
- Distribution
- South 1/4 of Kansas.
Additional Notes
Comments
Texas bluegrass is dioecious (male and female flowers occur on separate plants). The name arachnifera "spider-bearing" is in reference to the long white hairs of the spikelets which resemble a spider web. Texas bluegrass will increase under light disturbance but disappear with heavy grazing.
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Grass
- Family
- Poaceae - Grass Family
- Life Span
- Perennial
- Height
- 10-28 inches
- Last Updated
- 2007-12-05
Flowering Period
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Blooms: April, May