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Poa annua

Common name:	Annual Meadow Grass	Family:	Gramineae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Cosmopolitan, throughout the whole world, including Britain, but only on mountains in the tropics.
Habitat:	Waste places, cultivated land, grassland etc[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	P. annua var. aquatica[B,P] P. annua var. reptans[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Annual Blue Grass [B], Annual Blue-grass [L], Annual Bluegrass [P], Annual Meadow-grass [L], Low Spear Grass [L], Straatgras [D],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	annua = annual;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Renamed to Poaceae -- Grass family
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.3m by 0.2m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from February to November, and the seeds ripen from April to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind and Cleistogomy (self-pollinating without flowers ever opening). The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow, Lawn.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant, it succeeds in any well-drained moderately fertile soil in a sunny position[1]. Tolerates very acid soils[1].
This plant is a very common garden weed and will not usually require cultivation.
An important food plant for the caterpillars of many species of butterfly[30]. It is often found growing in close cut lawns[1].
The seed drops very readily from the plant so it is difficult to harvest[1]. This also means that the seed is spread very easily, making the plant even more difficult to eradicate[K].

Propagation

Seed - there should be no problem with having to sow this plant since it does the job very effectively without our help.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[FAO] Data (Description, Habitat, Location and Use) from the FAO's Grassland Index.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[30] Carter D. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan 1982 ISBN 0-330-26642-x
An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Poa+annua
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Poa+annua

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.