Article
Article
Bluegrass
Article By:
Madison, John H. Environmental Horticulture Department, University of California, Davis, California.
Last reviewed:December 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.088300
The common name for several species of perennial pasture and lawn grasses in the genus Poa (also called meadow-grass) of the family Poaceae (Gramineae). Approximately 50 species of bluegrass are natural to the United States and 4 are of economic importance: Kentucky bluegrass (P. pratensis), which is used in lawns and pasture; Canada bluegrass (P. compressa), which is used for erosion control; roughstalk bluegrass (P. trivialis), which is adapted for turf in cool, wet, shady environments; and annual bluegrass (P. annua), which is a weed of cool, moist sites. Kentucky bluegrass was introduced from Europe to Illinois by French missionaries in the early 1700s and it spread rapidly throughout the Midwest, thriving where mean July temperatures are below 20°C (68°F). See also: Forage crops; Grass crops; Lawn and turf grasses; Poales
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