POA
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Poa is a genus of about 500 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly North America), tussock (some New Zealand species), and speargrass.
One species, Smooth Meadow-grass Poa pratensis, is the type species of the family Poaceae.
The genus Poa includes both annual and perennial species. Most are monoecious, but a few are dioecious (separate male and female plants). The leaves are narrow, folded or flat, sometimes bristled, and with the basal sheath flattened or sometimes thickened, with a blunt or hooded apex and membranaceous ligule.
Poa species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Chionodes psiloptera.
Cultivation and uses
Many of the species are important pasture plants, used extensively by grazing livestock. Kentucky bluegrass is the most extensively used cool-season grass used in lawns, sports fields, and golf courses in the United States.
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