G98 



CANADA BLUEGRASS 



Po'a compres'sa 



Flower heads (panicles) 1 to 4 in. 

 long, loose, narrow; branches erect or 

 ascending, usually less than 1 in. long, 

 and densely flower-bearing to near 

 their bases 



Outer flower bract (lemma) about X 

 in. long, boat-shaped, somewhat cob- 

 webby-hairy at the base, bronzed at the 

 tips, indistinctly 5-nerved, the outer 

 and mid-nerves soft-hairy or hairless 



- Individual flower groups (spikelets) 

 3- to 7-flowered, }i to M in. long, stalk- 

 less or very short-stalked, purplish when 

 mature 



Lowest (2) spikelet bracts (glumes) 

 nearly equal, about K in- long, 3-nerved 



Leaves mostly basal, 1 to 4K in. long, 

 flat or folded, smooth beneath, rough 

 above; sheaths shorter than the space 

 between the joints, loose, flattened 



Stalks (culms) K to 2K ft. tall, some- 

 what flattened, bent and spreading at 

 the base, erect above, wiry, smooth, not 

 tufted 



ft^*** Rootstocks many, slender, running 



Roots fibrous, numerous, extensive 



This hardy perennial grass is generally designated throughout the United 

 States and Canada as Canada bluegrass, although it has numerous local names, 

 including English bluegrass, flat-stemmed grass, wiregrass, and Virginia blue- 

 grass. Canada bluegrass is a rather appropriate name for the following rea- 



