Poaceae
Grass Family
Poa palustris L.
- Stem: perennial; tufted; 2’ to 3’ tall; smooth.
- Leaves: sheath smooth; ligule 1/16” long, thin; blade 3” to 4” by 1/16”, prominent auricles at the base, tip “boat-shaped.”
- Inflorescence: wide-spreading, branching flower stalks, linear, to 6” long.
- Spikelets: 3/32” long, with several florets; upper glume and lower lemmas purple; flowering from late June to mid-July.
- Fruits: 3/16” long; mature floret with a wisp of hairs at the base; fruiting begins in early July; fruits begin falling from the glumes in mid-July.
- Habitat: infrequent on moist prairies and marshes; sometimes in moist, open woods; becoming very uncommon in southern Iowa.
- Notes: Fowl meadow grass is closely related to Kentucky bluegrass, Poapraten-sis L. (a common lawn grass), but is taller, blooms later, and has a larger inflorescence.
- Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Vascular Plants of Iowa
Can be found in these counties:
