Poa annua
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
annual poa
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Grasses
Simplified description
Roots, shallow, easily pulled from the soil. Stems, 2.5 to 30 cm tall, decumbent at base, sometimes rooting at lower joints (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Habitat
Prevalent in lawns and gardens, particularly those with moist, rich soils (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981). A weed of cultivated land and waste places.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Poaceae
Ecology
Year naturalised
1844
Origin
Europe
Reason for introduction
Agricultural
Life cycle and dispersal
Annual. Grows well in cool weather but is not winter hardy (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
poa: Meadow grass
annua: From the Latin annuus ‘year’, referring to a plant which completes its life cycle in a single year
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
POAANN
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Wax LM, Fawcett RS, Isley D, eds. 1981. Weeds of the North Central States. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Agriculture, Illinois, USA. 303 p.