KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS 



Po'a praten'sis 



G103 

 (2 leaves) 



Flower head (panicle)-^open, pyramid-shaped, 

 with usually spreading, often horizontal 

 branches whorled in distant grgups of 3 to 5 



Oater flower bract Gemma) about }i in. long, 

 very cottony or cobwebby-hairy at the b&se, 

 5-nerved; mid and outer nerves silky-hairy 

 toward the base, other nerves naked and 

 prominent 



Individual flower groups (spikelets) 3- to 6- 

 flowered, }{ to .% in. long, somewhat flattened, 

 crowded at the ends of the branchlets, purplish 

 when mature, longer than their stalks 



Lowest (2) spikelets bracts (glumes) slightly 

 unequal, boat-shaped, rough only on the keel; 

 1st glume 1-nerved (occasionally 3-nerved); 2d 

 glume 3-nerved 



Stalks (culms) 1 to 4 ft. tall, erect, round, 

 usually smooth 



Leaves more numerous and longer at base, 

 dark green, flat or folded, boat-shaped at the 

 tip, usually hairless, sometimes minutely hairy 

 on the upper surface; sheaths longer than the 

 space between the stem joints, overlapping 

 below, usually smooth 



Rootstocks many, slender, creeping under- 

 ground 



Roots fibrous, numerous, extensive 



