70 A MANUAL OF FARM GRASSES 



Botanical Name. Poa pratensis L. The genus Poa 

 includes the species of bluegrass of which there are about 

 ioo, found in all the cooler parts of the world. Only a 

 few of these have been brought into cultivation, the 

 species under consideration being by far the most im- 

 portant. Poa is a word used by the ancient Greeks for 

 grass in general, but Linnaeus adopted the name for the 

 genus as now understood. The term pratensis means 

 growing in meadows. 



BERMUDA GRASS 



Bermuda grass is the most important pasture grass of 

 the Southern States. It is a native of the warmer parts 

 of the Eastern Hemisphere, but was early introduced 

 into America and is now widely distributed in tropical 

 America and extends well northward into the warmer 

 temperate zone, being hardy as far north as Washington, 

 D. C, and southern Kansas. Bermuda grass thrives on 

 the open uplands and is the only grass now in use that 

 gives summer pasturage in the region mentioned. In 

 moist valleys or in the low land along the coast, other 

 grasses thrive and dispute its dominance. Except on 

 alluvial bottom land it does not grow rank enough for 

 hay and in such locations other grasses may give better 

 results. Except in the extreme South, Bermuda at least 

 partially suspends growth during the winter months. 

 Hence it is supplemented by those grasses that furnish 

 winter pasturage. It forms a close sod by means of its 

 rootstocks and stolons, a habit which especially adapts it 

 to lawns. Throughout the Southern States it is the 

 only grass that can be recommended for lawns, except in 



