Poa macrantha

Poa macrantha
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Pooideae
Genus:	Poa
Species:	P. macrantha
Binomial name
	Poa macrantha; Vasey

Last updated May 02, 2019

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.

Poaceae or Gramineae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants known as grasses, commonly referred to collectively as grass. Poaceae includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and cultivated lawns and pasture. Grasses have stems that are hollow except at the nodes and narrow alternate leaves borne in two ranks. The lower part of each leaf encloses the stem, forming a leaf-sheath. With around 780 genera and around 12,000 species, Poaceae are the fifth-largest plant family, following the Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Fabaceae and Rubiaceae.

Alaska is a U.S. state in the northwest extremity of North America, just across the Bering Strait from Asia. The Canadian province of British Columbia and territory of Yukon border the state to the east and southeast. Its most extreme western part is Attu Island, and it has a maritime border with Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas—southern parts of the Arctic Ocean. The Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest. It is the largest U.S. state by area and the seventh largest subnational division in the world. In addition, it is the 3rd least populous and the most sparsely populated of the 50 United States; nevertheless, it is by far the most populous territory located mostly north of the 60th parallel in North America: its population—estimated at 738,432 by the United States Census Bureau in 2015— is more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland. Approximately half of Alaska's residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaska's economy is dominated by the fishing, natural gas, and oil industries, resources which it has in abundance. Military bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy.

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.

Poa macrantha is a perennial grass growing in loose clumps with stems up to 60 centimeters in maximum height. The grass grows from a network of very long, stout rhizomes and stolons which may be up to 4 meters in length, anchoring the grass in its shifting sandy substrate. The inflorescence is a dense series of clustered spikelets which are flattened and longer than wide. The plant is dioecious with male and female individuals bearing different types of flowers; the two flower types are similar in appearance.

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow horizontally. The rhizome also retains the ability to allow new shoots to grow upwards.

Stolon horizontal connections between organisms

In biology, stolons, also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external skeletons.

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed. The modifications can involve the length and the nature of the internodes and the phyllotaxis, as well as variations in the proportions, compressions, swellings, adnations, connations and reduction of main and secondary axes. Inflorescence can also be defined as the reproductive portion of a plant that bears a cluster of flowers in a specific pattern.

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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.

Poa annua, or annual meadow grass, is a widespread low-growing turfgrass in temperate climates. Though P. annua is commonly considered a solely annual plant due to its name, perennial bio-types do exist. Poa (πόα) is Greek for "fodder". It is one of the sweetest grasses for green fodder, but less useful than hay. This grass may have originated as a hybrid between Poa supina and Poa infirma.

Poa nemoralis, the wood bluegrass, is a perennial plant in the Poaceae family. The late-growing grass is fairly nutritious for livestock, which feed on it in the autumn.

Poa compressa, the Canada bluegrass or flattened meadow-grass, is a perennial flattened meadow grass, similar to common meadow-grass, Poa pratensis. It is native to Europe but it can be found nearly worldwide as an introduced species. It grows in old wall tops, pavement cracks, dry stony grassland, and many types of wild habitat. It has a flattened stem, 23–30 cm tall, a close one sided panicle of grey green, with purple florets.

<i>Poa atropurpurea</i> species of plant

Poa atropurpurea is a rare species of grass known by the common name San Bernardino bluegrass. It is endemic to southern California, where it is known from two regions, the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear and the Laguna Mountains of San Diego County.

Poa bolanderi is a species of grass known by the common name Bolander's bluegrass. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Utah to California, where it is a resident of mountain habitat, particularly pine and fir forests. It is an annual grass growing in clumps up to 60 centimeters tall. The inflorescence occupies the top 10 to 15 centimeters of the stem. It is narrow in flower, with branches appressed, growing parallel to the stem. As the fruit develops the branches spread out, becoming perpendicular to the stem, nodding, or drooping. The branches have few, sparse spikelets.

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 cusickii is a species of grass known by the common name Cusick's bluegrass. It is native to western North America from Yukon to Colorado to eastern California, where it grows in many types of habitat, including high mountain meadows and slopes, sagebrush scrub, and forests.

Poa douglasii is a species of grass known by the common names Douglas' bluegrass and sand dune bluegrass. It is endemic to the coastline of California, where it grows in shifting sand dunes. It can be found mostly along the Central Coast and Channel Islands, and occasionally on the North Coast north of Mendocino. It is a perennial grass growing small, dense clumps up to about 30 centimeters in maximum height. It grows from a network of long rhizomes and stolons that anchor the grass to its loose sandy substrate; this network may be up to one meter long. The inflorescence is a dense, oval-shaped series of overlapping spikelets. The grass is dioecious, with male and female individuals producing different types of flowers in their inflorescences. This species, like many sand-dune endemic plants, is threatened by invasive species.

Poa glauca is a species of grass known by the common names glaucous bluegrass, glaucous meadow-grass and white bluegrass. It has a circumboreal distribution, occurring throughout the northern regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is also known from Patagonia. It is a common grass, occurring in Arctic and alpine climates and other areas. It can be found throughout the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in many types of habitat, including disturbed and barren areas.

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 unilateralis is a species of grass known by the common names San Francisco bluegrass, ocean-bluff bluegrass, and sea-bluff bluegrass. It is native to west coast of the United States from Washington to central California, where it grows in coastal habitats such as bluffs and beaches in sandy saline soils. It is a perennial grass forming dense clumps of stems up to 40 centimeters tall. The herbage may be waxy in texture. The leaves may be thin and early-withering or somewhat fleshy and persistent. The inflorescence is a dense cluster of short branches bearing small, hairy-edged spikelets.

Poa diaboli is a rare species of grass known by the common name Diablo Canyon bluegrass. It is endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, where it is known from about five occurrences in the San Luis Mountains near the coast. The type specimen was collected in Montaña de Oro State Park and the grass was described as a new species in 2003. The grass occurs on rugged mountaintops and north-facing slopes in thin soils covering shale rock within a few kilometers of the coastline. Its habitat includes chaparral, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, and Bishop pine forest.

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.

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.

Poa fendleriana is a species of grass known by the common name muttongrass. It is native to western North America, where its distribution extends from western Canada to northern Mexico.