Agrostis

Creeping bent Agrostis stolonifera, photographed by Carl Farmer.

Belongs within: Pooideae.

Agrostis, the bentgrasses, is a genus of about 200 species of grasses found in temperate and tropical montane regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Many bentgrasses are widely used in lawns.

Characters (from Lu & Phillips): Annuals or perennials, tufted or sometimes with rhizomes or stolons. Leaf blades linear to filiform or setaceous, flat or rolled; ligule membranous. Inflorescence a panicle, open to contracted or spikelike. Spikelets with 1 floret, small, often gaping, without rachilla extension; rachilla disarticulating above glumes; glumes persistent, longer than floret, subequal or lower a little longer, membranous, 1-veined, apex subacute to acuminate; floret callus glabrous or shortly pilose; lemma oblong to elliptic, thinner than glumes, often hyaline, 5-veined, rounded on back, glabrous or hairy, lateral veins sometimes excurrent, awnless or awned from back, apex truncate or toothed; awn usually geniculate, sometimes weakly so or straight when short; palea shorter than lemma, sometimes very small. Stamens 3. Caryopsis oblong, sulcate on ventral side.

<==Agrostis [Agrostideae]
    |--A. avenacea GK00
    |--A. capillaris AC93
    |--A. dyeri W27
    |--A. gigantea O88
    |--A. hookeriana O88
    |--A. inaequiglumis O88
    |--A. infirma H03
    |    |--A. i. var. infirma H03
    |    `--A. i. var. remota H03
    |--A. montevidensis D03
    |    |--A. m. var. montevidensis D03
    |    `--A. m. var. submutica D03
    |--A. muelleri An27
    |--A. munroana O88
    |--A. muscosa CA27
    |--A. nervosa O88
    |--A. parviflora An27
    |--A. peninsularis S03
    |--A. petriei W27
    |--A. pilosa Al27
    |--A. pilosula O88
    |--A. stolonifera BBO01
    |--A. subulata Al27
    |--A. tenella W27
    |--A. tenuis C96
    `--A. vulgaris Al27

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[Al27] Allan, H. H. 1927. The vegetation of Mount Peel, Canterbury, New Zealand. Part 2. – The grassland and other herbaceous communities. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 73-89.

[An27] Andersen, J. C. 1927. Popular names of New Zealand plants. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 905-977.

[AC93] Atkinson, I. A. E., & E. K. Cameron. 1993. Human influence on the terrestrial biota and biotic communities of New Zealand. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 8 (12): 447-451.

[BBO01] Begerow, D., R. Bauer & F. Oberwinkler. 2001. Muribasidiospora: Microstromatales or Exobasidiales? Mycological Research 105 (7): 798-810.

[C96] Campbell, N. A. 1996. Biology (4^th ed.) The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc.: Menlo Park (California).

[CA27] Cockayne, L., & H. H. Allan. 1927. Notes on New Zealand floristic botany, including descriptions of new species, &c. (No. 5). Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 48-72.

[D03] Dusén, P. 1903. The vegetation of western Patagonia. In Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896-1899, vol. 8 – Botany (W. B. Scott, ed.) pp. 1-34. The University: Princeton (New Jersey).

[GK00] Gibson, N., & G. J. Keighery. 2000. Flora and vegetation of the Byenup-Muir reserve system, south-west Western Australia. CALMScience 3 (3): 323-402.

[H03] Heads, M. 2003. Ericaceae in Malesia: Vicariance biogeography, terrane tectonics and ecology. Telopea 10 (1): 311-449.

[O88] Ohba, H. 1988. The alpine flora of the Nepal Himalayas: An introductory note. In The Himalayan Plants vol. 1 (H. Ohba & S. B. Malla, eds) The University Museum, University of Tokyo, Bulletin 31: 19-46.

[S03] Singh, J. N. 2003. Grasses and their hydro-edaphic characteristics in the grassland habitat of Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, Tamil Nadu. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 45 (1-4): 143-164.

[W27] Wall, A. 1927. Some problems of distribution of indigenuous plants in New Zealand. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 94-105.