| Author | L. | |
| Distribution | Mountains and Piedmont; disjunct to Chowan County (roadside, specimen annotated by E.A. Kellogg).
Native of Europe; in N.A. mostly the eastern and western U.S. with a big gap in the middle and Deep South. | |
| Abundance | Infrequent to frequent in the Mountains and Piedmont; very rare in the Coastal Plain. | |
| Habitat | Stream and creek sides, floodplains, bottomlands, seeps, spruce-fir forest (Roan Mountain), roadside (Chowan Co.). | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting April-June. | |
| Identification | Rough Bluegrass is a tufted perennial, the stems 1-3 feet tall (potentially to 4 feet). The inflorescence is elongate, open to relatively tight. Each spikelet contains only 2-4 florets, fewer than most of our bluegrasses. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | The genus Poa contains some 500 species globally, about 70 in N.A. A typical Poa species has a number of basal leaves, few stem leaves, and a terminal, open inflorescence. The inflorescence is composed of well-spaced whorls of 2-6 skinny branches, usually with short side branchlets and these bearing spikelets. Branches may be strongly ascending, horizontal, or reflexed. Spikelets are composed of 2-6 florets and are generally laterally compressed. Each glume and lemma is acute to blunt, but seldom acuminate as in many Festuca species. Unlike Festuca and Bromus, most Poa species have a small wispy tuft of white hairs at the base of each floret. | |
| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | SE | |
| Global Rank | GNR | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACW link |
| USACE-emp | FACW link |
