Poa


Poa is a genus of about 500 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass, bluegrass, tussock, and speargrass. Poa is Greek for "fodder". Poa are members of the subfamily Pooideae of the family Poaceae.
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.
The genus Poa includes both annual and perennial species. Most are monoecious, but a few are dioecious. 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.

Cultivation and uses

Many of the species are important pasture plants, used extensively by grazing livestock. Kentucky bluegrass is the most extensively used cool-season grass used in lawns, sports fields, and golf courses in the United States. Annual bluegrass can sometimes be considered a weed.
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.
Some of the Poa species are popular for gardens and for landscaping in New Zealand.

Insect foodplant

whose caterpillars feed on Poa include: