Florapass
English
Annual Bluegrass

Annual Bluegrass

Poa annua

Identify the Annual Bluegrass from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play.

How common: Very common

Alien species

Annual Bluegrass is a small, soft, light green grass that often forms loose tufts. It pops up in lawns, paths, gardens and other trampled places, and is now widespread across temperate regions worldwide. It can flower through much of the growing season.

Did you know?

  • The leaf tip is shaped like a tiny boat, a handy clue for recognition.
  • In mild weather it can stay green over winter and start flowering very early.

About the species

Identification

Small, soft grass forming loose tufts, often bent at the base. 5–30 cm tall (often shorter on mown lawns). Leaves 2–5 mm wide, very light green, soft, often with fine crosswise wrinkles; tip shaped like a tiny boat. Where the leaf meets the stem there is a whitish, blunt flap 2–6 mm long. Flower head 2–5 cm, loose and wide, with lower branches spreading or drooping; small green (sometimes slightly purplish) clusters along them. Distinguish from other bluegrasses by the very light green color, the long flap, and near‑constant seeding. Flowers in Finland from May to October.

Plant group

Grasses, sedges and rushes

Habitat

yards and roadsides

Flowering

May–Oct

About the habitat

Open, disturbed ground: lawns, meadows, paths, yards and gardens, roadsides, waste places, field edges and bare soil, and along shores. Common throughout the country.

Sources

Photo: Triplec85, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2023-06-04 Poa annua im Juni in Tauberbischofsheim 21.jpg

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40457

Text: Pinkka: Laaja maatalouslajintuntemus 4 op - Koppisiemeniset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40457

Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40457

Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Talvivihreät luonnonkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.40457

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyl%C3%A4nurmikka

See also