Poa pratensis, commonly known as Kentucky bluegrass, smooth meadow-grass, or common meadow-grass, is a perennial species of grass native to practically all of Europe, North Asia and the mountains of Algeria and Morocco. Although the species is spread over all of the cool, humid parts of the United States, it is not native to North America. The Spanish Empire brought the seeds of Kentucky bluegrass to the New World in mixtures with other grasses. Poa pratensis forms a valuable pasture plant, characteristic of well-drained, fertile soil. It is also used for making lawns in parks and gardens and is common in cool moist climates like the Northeastern United States. When found on native grasslands in Canada, however, it is considered an unwelcome exotic plant, and is indicative of a disturbed and degraded landscape.
Chamaenerion latifolium is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the English common names dwarf fireweed and river beauty willowherb. It has a circumboreal distribution, appearing throughout the northern regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including subarctic and Arctic areas such as snowmelt-flooded gravel bars and talus, in a wide range of elevations. This is a perennial herb growing in clumps of leaves variable in size, shape, and texture above a woody caudex. The leaves are 1 to 10 centimeters long, lance-shaped to oval, pointed or rounded at the tips, and hairy to hairless and waxy. The inflorescence is a rough-haired raceme of nodding flowers with bright to deep pink, and occasionally white, petals up to 3 centimeters long. Behind the opened petals are pointed sepals. The fruit is an elongated capsule which may exceed 10 centimeters in length.
Poa bulbosa is a species of grass known by the common names bulbous bluegrass or bulbous meadow-grass. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it is present practically worldwide as an introduced species. It is widespread in the United States and southern Canada. It was introduced to the eastern United States around 1906 and the western US in 1915 as a contaminant in shipments of alfalfa seed. It was intentionally planted on both the east and west coasts to control weeds and prevent erosion. Today it is a common grass across the continent and is a noxious weed in some areas. It is a sturdy, hardy, persistent, aggressive grass that easily outcompetes many other plants and becomes the dominant species in disturbed habitat types, such as overgrazed fields.
Poa confinis is a species of grass known by the common names coastline bluegrass and beach bluegrass. It is native to the coastline of western North America from British Columbia to northern California, where it grows on beaches, dunes, and other coastal habitat.
Poa howellii is a species of grass known by the common name Howell's bluegrass.
Poa infirma is a species of grass known by the common names early meadow-grass and weak bluegrass. It was first described from a specimen found in Colombia, but it is actually an introduced species in the Americas and is native to Europe. It grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas. It is very similar to Poa annua, which is probably a daughter species, and it is often mistaken for P. annua unless it is closely examined.
Poa leptocoma is a species of grass known by the common names marsh bluegrass and western bog bluegrass. It is native to western North America from Alaska to New Mexico, where it grows in subalpine and alpine climates and the Arctic. It is also known from the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Poa macrantha is a species of grass known by the common names seashore bluegrass and large-flowered sand dune bluegrass. It is native to the west coast of North America from Alaska to northern California, where it grows in sand dunes and other beach habitat.
Puccinellia pumila is a species of grass known by the common names dwarf akaligrass and smooth alkali grass. It is native to North America where it grows along the coastline in the northern latitudes, from Alaska across Arctic northern Canada to Greenland. It occurs on the coast of the Pacific Northwest in the United States and it is known from the Kamchatka Peninsula. The grass is only found on the coast, in wetland habitat, beaches, and areas inundated by the highest tides, in saline sand and mud. This perennial grass grows decumbent or erect to a maximum height near 40 centimeters, often remaining much smaller, especially in harsh habitat. It may root at stem nodes which become buried in wet substrate. The inflorescence is a dense or open array of branches bearing spikelets.
Sibbaldia procumbens is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name creeping sibbaldia. It has a circumpolar distribution; it can be found throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere from Arctic regions into higher-elevation temperate areas. It grows on tundra and in alpine climates where snow remains year-round, and on subalpine mountain slopes. This is a low, mat-forming perennial herb producing clumps of herbage in rocky, gravelly substrate. A spreading stem up to 15 centimeters long grows from a caudex. Each leaf is divided into usually three leaflets borne at the end of a petiole up to 7 centimeters long. Each wedge-shaped leaflet has three teeth at the tip. The flower has usually five pointed green bractlets, five wider pointed green sepals, and five tiny yellowish petals each about a millimeter long. The fruits develop in the remnants of the sepals on erect stalks.
Tauschia glauca is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name glaucous umbrellawort, or glaucous tauschia. It is native to the forests of Oregon and northern California, where it can often be found on serpentine soils. It is a perennial herb growing 20 to 40 centimeters tall. The leaves have blades which are divided into three-lobed leaflets and borne on long, thin petioles. The inflorescence is a compound umbel of yellow flowers with up to 12 unequal rays measuring up to 6 centimeters long each. The fruit is rounded, ribbed, and only 2 or 3 millimeters long.
Trisetum spicatum is a species of grass known by the common name spike trisetum and spike false oat. It is native to North America, Eurasia, and South America. In North America it occurs throughout northern regions, including northern sections of the United States and most all of Canada, its range continuing to Greenland. It is widespread throughout the Canadian Arctic Islands. The grass occurs in a variety of Arctic and alpine habitat types, as well as many types of mountainous habitat in regions farther south. It is a perennial grass forming clumps of erect stems ranging in height from just a few centimeters to over one meter. The narrow leaves are mostly located around the bases of the densely clumped stems. The inflorescence is a narrow spike a few centimeters long or up to 30 to 50 centimeters in maximum length. The spikes are green to purple or brownish and shiny.
Draba fladnizensis is a species of plant in the mustard family known by the common names arctic draba, Austrian draba, and white arctic whitlow-grass. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It is present in Europe, Asia, and North America from Alaska across northern Canada to Greenland. Its distribution extends south through the higher elevations in the Rocky Mountains to Colorado and Utah. It is common and widespread in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, occurring on several Arctic islands including Baffin, Devon, and Ellesmere Islands. It is named after the Austrian village of Flattnitz, in the Gurktaler Alpen.
Hedysarum alpinum is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name alpine sweetvetch. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America it is widespread in Canada and the northernmost United States, including Alaska.
Juncus castaneus is a species of rush known by the common name chestnut rush. It has a circumboreal or circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It occurs in Europe, Asia, and North America. In North America it occurs from Alaska to Greenland, its distribution spanning Canada and extending south through the Rocky Mountains in the contiguous United States. It is widespread and common in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Poa arida is a species of grass known by the common names plains bluegrass and prairie speargrass. It is native to North America, where it occurs throughout western and central Canada and the central United States. It is most common east of the Continental Divide; specimens west are often misidentifications.
Salix glauca is a species of flowering plant in the willow family known by the common names gray willow, grayleaf willow, white willow, and glaucous willow. It is native to North America, where it occurs throughout much of Alaska, northern and western Canada, and the contiguous United States south through the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico. It can also be found in Greenland, northwestern Europe, and Siberia.
Poa paludigena is a species of grass known by the common names bog bluegrass, marsh bluegrass, slender marsh bluegrass, and Patterson's bluegrass. It is native to the northeastern United States.
Juncus trifidus is a species of rush known by the common names highland rush and three-leaved rush. It is native to the Northern Hemisphere, where it is an arctic/montane species with an amphi-atlantic distribution.
