Poa nemoralisL.

wood bluegrass

WFO wfo-0000893068 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Poa nemoralis, photographed by Jason Grant
fig. a Jason Grant, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-11 / obs. 205225156

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

The specimen a real sheet, in a real collection

Herbarium
The New York Botanical Garden
Accession
04229082
Filed as
Poa nemoralis L.
Det. by
D. E. Atha 2019-01-01
Collected
D. E. Atha 2017-08-05
Origin
US
The sheet
View the digitised specimen (CC BY 4.0)

A real pressed plant, in a real collection, under the accession number above. Not an illustration of one. The holding institution does not serve this sheet’s image to third parties, so there is no photograph here. The record is real and the link goes to it. Where we hold no openly licensed sheet for a species this section is simply absent, and where a sheet never recorded who determined it, that field stays empty rather than being filled in. Roughly half of all herbarium sheets never recorded a determiner, which is ordinary.

Native range 125 botanical countries

Regions where Poa nemoralis is native: Algeria, Morocco, Afghanistan, Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Lebanon-Syria, Magadan, Manchuria, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Primorye, Sakhalin, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Tuva, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, East Himalaya, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya, Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, Føroyar, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Krym, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Alaska, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon AlgeriaMoroccoAfghanistanAltayAmurBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralInner MongoliaIranIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanKrasnoyarskLebanon-SyriaMagadanManchuriaMongoliaNorth CaucasusPrimoryeSakhalinTadzhikistanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanTuvaUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaEast HimalayaNepalPakistanWest HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCorseCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandItalyKrymNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraineAlaskaAlbertaArizonaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaOhioOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaQuébecSaskatchewanSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinWyomingYukon KoreaFøroyarSardegnaDelawareRhode I.
Native distribution of Poa nemoralis, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Aleutian Is. ALU
Arizona ARI
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
Idaho IDA
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Missouri MSO
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
Nevada NEV
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
North Carolina NCA
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Ohio OHI
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
South Dakota SDA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Utah UTA
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Corse COR
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
Føroyar FOR
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Iceland ICE
Italy ITA
Krym KRY
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Amur AMU
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Kirgizstan KGZ
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Magadan MAG
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Primorye PRM
Sakhalin SAK
Tadzhikistan TZK
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Tuva TVA
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
East Himalaya EHM ASIA-TROPICAL
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
West Himalaya WHM
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Morocco MOR

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is., Great Britain, Aleutian Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,965 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -12.9 °C -6.2 °C -1.0 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 20.3 °C 23.4 °C 26.1 °C
Annual rainfall 532 mm 670 mm 1,179 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 83 mm 113 mm 223 mm

It is found where winters bring hard frost. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,965 research-grade observations of Poa nemoralis that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 149 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Agrestis alba (L.) Lunell
  • Agrostis alba L.
  • Agrostis alba f. alba
  • Agrostis alba var. alba
  • Agrostis aristata Sinclair ex Steud.
  • Agrostis conferta Willd. ex Steud.
  • Agrostis cremenica Besser ex Steud.
  • Agrostis disticha Schweigg. ex Steud.
  • Agrostis stolonifera f. alba (L.) Schur
  • Agrostis stolonifera f. alba Neinshaus
  • Agrostis stolonifera var. alba (L.) Lilj.
  • Agrostis vulgaris var. alba (L.) Gatt.
  • Aira elodes Brign.
  • Aira helodec Steud.
  • Aira helodes Steud.
  • Aira petraea Bellardi ex Steud.
  • Catabrosa elodes (Brign.) Roem. & Schult.
  • Catabrosa helodes Roem. & Schult.
  • Decandolia alba (L.) T.Bastard
  • Eragrostis tenuis Steud.
  • Festuca asperrima Hornem. ex Steud.
  • Festuca depauperata Bertol.
  • Milium album (L.) Lag.
  • Milium vulgare var. album (L.) Mérat

and 125 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.