Common name: Winter Grass, Annual Poa
Poa annua L. APNI* 
Description: Loosely to compactly tufted, flaccid, light green, glabrous annual to 0.3 m high.
Culms erect, spreading or prostrate, very slender and weak, c. 3-noded, smooth. Sheaths ± compressed, keeled, striate, smooth; ligule thinly membranous, 2–5 mm long, obtusely truncate; blade flat, or folded when young, thin, soft, linear, with blunt, keeled tips, 0.5–12 cm long, 1–5 mm wide, mostly smooth.
Inflorescence triangular to ovate, 1–12 cm long, from somewhat loose to somewhat dense, branches ± spreading. Spikelets ovate or oblong, 3–10-flowered. Glumes acute or obtuse, keeled, 1–3-nerved. Lemmas very obtuse to almost truncate, keeled, oblong, prominently 5-nerved; palea usually densely fringed with long fine hairs on the keels.
Flowering: mainly winter–spring.
Distribution and occurrence: A weed of cultivated land and other disturbed sites; widespread. Native of Eur.
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *CC, *SC, *NT, *CT, *ST, *NWS, *CWS, *SWS, *NWP, *SWP, *SFWP, *LHI
Other Australian states: *Qld *Vic. *Tas. *W.A. *S.A.
Text by Jacobs, S.W.L., Whalley, R.D.B. & Wheeler, D.J.B.
Taxon concept: Grasses of New South Wales, Fourth Edition (2008).
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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