Distribution: Common weed throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Habitat: Lawns, gardens, roadsides, and waste ground to open woods.
Flowers: March - August
Origin: Introduced
Growth Duration: Annual, Biennial
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Pollination: Wind
Glabrous annual, the culms 5-20 cm. tall, hollow, rooting at the nodes and forming mats.
Sheaths closed below, but open over half their length; ligules about 1 mm. long, rounded to truncate; blades 1-3.5 mm. broad, usually folded, the tip prow-like.
Inflorescence a pyramidal panicle 3-8 cm. long, the branches spreading and somewhat rigid; spikelets 3- to 6-flowered, 4-6 mm. long; glumes unequal, the first 1-nerved, about 2 mm. long, the second 3-nerved, much the broader; florets rather distant, the rachilla visible; lemmas about 3.5 mm. long, 5-nerved, the margins purplish and papery, usually pubescent along the keel and marginal nerves; paleas slightly shorter than the lemmas, 2-keeled.
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Poa annua in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database.
WA Flora Checklist: Poa annua checklist entry.
OregonFlora: Poa annua information.
E-Flora BC: Poa annua atlas page.
CalPhotos: Poa annua photos.
USDA Plants: Poa annua information.