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Poa trivialis L. |
 
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Graminae |
Author: Alain Peeters |
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Rough meadowgrass (English), Pāturin commun (French), Gemeines rispengras (German). Perennial plant but with a short lifetime, average size, hairless, cespitous. Stems erect or ascendent and in this case often rooted on the nodes, 20 - 100 cm high. Blade folded when young, long (up to 20 cm), rather narrow (1.5 - 6 mm), rather soft, pale green to yellowish green, with 2 visible veins on each side of the central nerve (<< ski tracks >>), tip not or slightly hooded. Ligule of the lower leaves very short, acute. Ligule of the upper leaves, long (4 - 8 or even 10 min), acute. No auricles. Panicle-like inflorescence, spreading, pyramidal, with branches clustered per level of 4 - 6. Tendency to form 3 short branches and 3 long branches at each level, but this feature is very irregular. Spikelets 2 - 4 - flowered, with woolly hairs at the base. Spikelets thinner than P. pratensis. The weight of 1000 seeds is 0.2 to 0.3 g (small seeds). Chromosome number: 2n = 14. Very variable species. Large climate range. Tolerates shade, namely in old orchards. Drought sensitive. Large range of soil humidity. Optimum on normally drained to cool soils. Much rarer on dry soils in opposition to P. pratensis. Optimum on nutrient rich soils (eutrophic species) and slightly acid to neutral. Low requirements for the soil texture. Native to temperate and cold areas of the northern hemisphere. From the lowlands to alpine levels in mountain areas. |