8. Poa sylvestris A. Gray (sylvan bluegrass, woodland bluegrass)

Pl. 180 a, b; Map 732

Plants perennial, without rhizomes, forming tufts or small clumps. Flowering stems 30–80 cm long, erect, circular in cross‑section, glabrous. Leaf sheaths rounded or nearly so, glabrous, the ligule 0.5–2.0 mm long, truncate and somewhat uneven on the margin. Leaf blades 5–20 cm long, 2–6 mm wide, flat, glabrous or nearly so. Inflorescences 8–20 cm long, open, the lowermost nodes with 4–8 branches, these spreading or nodding at maturity. Spikelets 3.0–4.5 mm long, with 2–5 fertile florets. Lower glume 1.3–2.7 mm long, lanceolate, sharply pointed at the tip, with broad, thin margins, 1‑nerved, roughened along the midnerve. Upper glume 1.7–3.5 mm long, oblong‑ovate, sharply pointed at the tip, with broad, thin margins, 3‑nerved, roughened along the midnerve. Lemmas 2.1–3.5 mm long, elliptic, bluntly pointed at the tip, 5‑nerved, short‑hairy along the keel and the outermost pair of lateral nerves, often also hairy on the other lateral nerves and between the nerves, and with a tuft of long, cobwebby hairs at the base. Anthers 0.8–1.4 mm long. Fruits 1.2–1.5 mm long, reddish brown. 2n=28. April–June.

Common nearly throughout the state (eastern U.S. west to Wisconsin and Texas). Bottomland forests, mesic upland forests, and banks of streams and rivers; also shaded roadsides and moist, disturbed areas.