Poa alpigena

Poa alpigena
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Pooideae
Genus:	Poa
Species:	P. alpigena
Binomial name
	Poa alpigena; (Fries) Lindm.
Synonyms[1]
	Poa pratensis subsp. alpigena;

Poa alpigena is a species of grass occurring in mountainous regions. Its specific epithet "alpigena" means "growing in the alpine".

Description

Poa alpigena grows up to 75 cm (30 in) tall, with firm leaf blades. Its panicle grows up to 13 cm (5.1 in) high, with its lax branches sometimes reflexed. Its crowded spikelets are 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) long. Its glumes are lance-ovate, with the second glume sometime reaching to the middle of the lemma above it. The nerves of the glumes range from glabrous to scabrous, and the lemmas are minutely pubescent.[2]

Poa alpigena has a similar habit to Poa arida, only taller.[2] The most distinguishing characteristic of P. alpigena is its curved underground stem.[3]

The grass flowers from June to August.

Distribution and habitat

Poa alpigena occurs in alpine meadows, wet slopes, bogs, and other similar wet areas. It can be found from Greenland and Labrador to the Yukon, and as far south as Newfoundland, Michigan, Prince Edward Island, and the alpine areas of the White Mountains.[2] In terms of soil content, P. alpigena prefers loose, deep soil, especially sandy alluvium.[4]

References

Qian, H.; Klinka, K. (1998). Plants of British Columbia: Scientific and Common Names of Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, and Lichens. UBC Press. p. 111. ISBN 9780774806527.
Merrit Lyndon Fernald (1970). R. C. Rollins (ed.). Gray's Manual of Botany (Eighth (Centennial) - Illustrated ed.). D. Van Nostrand Company. p. 118. ISBN 0-442-22250-5.
Bor, N. L. (1953). "THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA". The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Diocesan Press. 50 (1): 791.
Schwarzenbach, F.H. (2010). Botanical Observations on the Penny Highlands of Baffin Island: A Historical Document. Verlag Books on Demand. p. 67. ISBN 9783842318847.

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[1] Qian, H.; Klinka, K. (1998). Plants of British Columbia: Scientific and Common Names of Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, and Lichens. UBC Press. p. 111. ISBN 9780774806527.

[Manual-2] Merrit Lyndon Fernald (1970). R. C. Rollins (ed.). Gray's Manual of Botany (Eighth (Centennial) - Illustrated ed.). D. Van Nostrand Company. p. 118. ISBN 0-442-22250-5.

[3] Bor, N. L. (1953). "THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA". The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Diocesan Press. 50 (1): 791.

[4] Schwarzenbach, F.H. (2010). Botanical Observations on the Penny Highlands of Baffin Island: A Historical Document. Verlag Books on Demand. p. 67. ISBN 9783842318847.