Poa pratensis subsp. pratensis

Kentucky blue grass, Kentucky Blue Grass

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Kentucky blue grass is a naturalized perennial grass found throughout California in disturbed habitats, pastures, and areas with sub-saline and sub-alkaline soils at elevations up to 3,500 meters. Flowering from March to July, this grass produces small, delicate greenish-white flowers in loose, spreading inflorescences 6 to 15 centimeters long. Growing 20 to 70 centimeters tall with multiple long, stout rhizomes, it forms loose or tufted clumps with flexible stems. Its leaf blades are 2 to 4 millimeters wide, soft to firm, and typically flat or slightly folded, with open leaf sheaths and small ligules 1 to 4 millimeters long. The plant is notably adaptable, with complex chromosome variations and the ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually.

Habitat: Common. Disturbed habitats, pastures, tolerating sub-saline and sub-alkaline soils

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: < 3500 m

Bioregions: CA

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.