Swamp Meadow-grass
Poa palustris
Despite its delicate appearance, this grass is often used for high-quality hay in areas too wet for other forage crops to survive.
- Scientific name
- Poa palustris
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Liliopsida › Poales › Poaceae › Poa
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Wet meadows, marshes, stream banks, and swampy depressions in temperate regions.
- Diet
- Photosynthetic (Sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide).
- Range
- North America, Europe, Asia
- Size
- 30 to 120 cm in height
- Lifespan
- Perennial (typically 3-7 years)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Wetland drainage for agriculture, urban development, and competition from invasive species like Phragmites.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. This species is safe to touch and observe. Avoid trampling the surrounding soil to prevent compaction in sensitive wetland ecosystems. Note that its pollen may trigger mild seasonal allergies during mid-summer flowering.
Poa palustris ( fowl bluegrass , fowl meadowgrass , swamp meadowgrass , woodland bluegrass ) is a species of grass native to Asia, Europe and Northern America. This plant is used as fodder and forage, and it also used for erosion control or revegetation.
Photo: Dmitriy Bochkov, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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