HOW TO KNOW THE GRASSES 



111b. Lower panicle branches mostly in whorls of 5; lemmas 2.4 — 3.6 

 mm. long; anthers 1.0 — 1.8 mm. long. Fig. 148. 



KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS Poa praiensis L. 



Perennial; rhizomes present; culms 30 — 100 

 cm. tall, in dense clumps with numerous 

 sterile leafy shoots (innovations); panicles 

 open, pyramidal, somewhat contracted after 

 flowering. Kentucky bluegrass is one of 

 our most widely distributed introduced grasses 

 and is much used for lawns and pastures in 

 the northern states. It is extensively natural- 

 ized in pastures, prairies, roadsides, open 

 woods and waste ground. April — July. In- 

 troduced from Europe. 



Figure 148 



1 12a. Lemmas bearing a web 113 



112b. Lemmas glabrous or pubescent, but without a web 118 



113a. Marginal nerves of lemmas pubescent 114 



113b. Marginal nerves of lemmas glabrous 117 



114a. Lemmas glabrous between the nerves; ligules of upper culm 

 leaves 2.5 — 7 mm. long 115 



114b. Lemmas pubescent between the nerves; ligules almost always 

 less than 2 mm. long 116 



78 



