BULBOUS BLUEGRASS (Poa bulbosa)

Описание: This is Bulbous bluegrass, a perennial grass that is native to Europe and North Africa, and which has become a common introduce weed throughout much of the world. It is a perennial that flowers in early spring.

The plant grows in a bunching habit, and has tall, thin hollow stems that are smooth and hairless. The leaves are lightly rolled in the bud, and have large, membranous ligules. They are smooth and hairless. 

Atop the stems are tight panicles of unique green spikelets with long, soft awns. The flowers are very small and indistinct, and at their bases are swollen purple bulbils.

The roots of bulbous bluegrass are dense and fibrous, and beneath the soil are many swollen purple bulbs. These plants rarely reproduce by seed, instead spreading asexually through their bulbs which grow both belowground and atop their flowering heads.

Bulbous bluegrass us a weedy plant common in pastures, grain fields, gardens, waste areas, and roadsides in much of North America. It is edible, and is consumed by many different animals.



Sources:
Weeds of the West, 5th Edition (1991) by Tom D. Whitson, published by the Western Society of Weed Science




University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources IPM – Weed Gallery


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United States Department of Agriculture – Plant Database
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