Participant Info

Species

Poa compressa [Panelon compressum]

Family

Poaceae

CommonName

Canada bluegrass, wiregrass, flattened meadow-grass

Presence

yes

Status

exotic

EarliestDate

1896

LatestDate

2018

Ecosystem

foothill, montane, ruderal

Geobotanical

SSanjuans, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, Archuleta

Passes

La Veta, Spring Creek

WildlifePreserves

Baca

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

Comments

NEED IN SITU PHOTOS. Canada bluegrass (which is not native to Canada) has regularly been vouchered from the Garitas and South San Juans of the Watershed, but only twice from the east-side mountain ranges, namely La Veta pass (Costilla Co, 1896) and Baca National Wildlife Refuge (Saguache Co, 2012). The naturalized habitat is forest clearings and grazed meadows in the montane, but Poa compressa should be looked for by roadsides and in sidewalk cracks. The species can be confused with Poa pratensis, but the bent bases and compressed nodes and internodes should identify P. compressa easily. P. compressa was recorded in the USA in first decade of the 19th century, and currently (2025) has been observed in every state of the mainland except Florida. It follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico and Texas to the Gulf of Mexico.

Annotation