brush and wheatgrass types. A few species occur on the drier, in- 

 fertile, open side hills, ridges, and waste places. Several species of 

 bluegrass, including Kentucky bluegrass and Canada bluegrass, are 

 used for reseeding depleted range lands. These two species are also 

 very effective for checking erosion, as they grow and spread rapidly 

 and form a continuous sod. 



The bluegrasses are primarily valued for pasturage, although a 

 few species are cut for hay. With a few exceptions they are all 

 relished by both wild game and domesticated livestock. They rank 

 among the most palatable of all range grasses, many of them being 

 rated as excellent for cattle, horses, sheep, and elk. Such turf -form- 

 ing species as Kentucky bluegrass, Canada bluegrass, "Wheeler blue- 

 grass (P. nervosa, syn. P. wjieeleri), and Texas bluegrass (P. 

 aracknifera) are well adapted for pasture and lawns. Of these, 

 Kentucky bluegrass and Canada bluegrass are by far the most im- 

 portant. These two grasses are major components of most lawn and 

 pasture grass mixtures except in the far South. They grow 

 luxuriantly in humid regions or where ample moisture is supplied, 

 readily forming a dense sod cover. Their foliage is dark bluish 

 green, and very attractive. Many of the native bluegrasses, such as 

 muttongrass (P. fendleriana) , Nevada bluegrass (P. nevadens-ix) , 

 Canby bluegrass (P. canbyi] , pine bluegrass (P. scabrella, syn. P. 

 'buckleyama] , Sandberg bluegrass (P. secunda, syn P. sandbergii), 

 Wheeler bluegrass, and the introduced wood bluegrass (P. nzmor- 

 alis), are important range plants because they furnish an abundance 

 of tender and nutritious forage. 



Poa is distinguished from other genera in the fescue tribe by the 

 following characters : spikelets small, awnless ; lemmas with heavy 

 midnerve like the keel of a boat, not bifid at the tip, often hairy or 

 cobwebby at the base ; glumes one- to three-nerved, entire ; leaf blades 

 flat or folded, with boat-shaped tips. 



