Agrostis
Read about Agrostis in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Agrostis (an ancient Greek name for a forage grass, from agros, a field). Gramineae. Bent-grass. Annual or usually perennial grasses with erect or creeping stems and open panicles of small flowers. Spikelets 1-fld.; glumes about equal, acute; lemma shorter and more delicate than the glumes, sometimes awned from the back, palea usually shorter than the lemma, often small or wanting.—Species about 100, distributed over the entire world, especially in the north temperate zone. The genus comprises several forage and lawn grasses and a few ornamental, the panicles being used for bouquets. A nebulosa is excellent for dry bouquets. A. elegans of gardens is an Aira.
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 Agrostis tenuis | ||||||||||||
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Agrostis (Bent or Bentgrass) is a genus of over 100 species belonging to the grass family Poaceae.
- Selected species
- Agrostis canina (Velvet Bent)
- Agrostis capillaris (Common Bent) - also called browntop
- Agrostis clavata (Northern Bent)
- Agrostis curtisii (Bristle Bent)
- Agrostis gigantea (Black Bent) - also called the redtop or redtop grass
- Agrostis castellana (Highland Bent)
- Agrostis mertensii (Arctic Bent)
- Agrostis scabra (Tickle Bent)
- Agrostis stolonifera (Creeping Bent; syn. A. palustris)
- Agrostis vineale (Brown Bent)
Uses
Some species of bents are commonly used for lawn grass. This is a desirable grass for golf course tees, fairways and greens.
Bentgrass is used in turf applications for its numerous advantages: it can be mowed to a very short length without damage, it can handle a great amount of foot traffic, it has a shallow root system that is thick and dense allowing it to be seeded and grow rather easily, and it has a pleasing, deep green appearance.
Creeping Bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.; syn = Agrostis palustris Huds.) is the most commonly used species of Agrostis. It is cultivated almost exclusively on golf courses, especially on putting greens. Creeping Bentgrass aggressively produces horizontal stems, called stolons, that run along the soil's surface. These stolons allow creeping bentgrass to form dense stands under conducive conditions and out-compete bunch-type grass and broadleaf weeds. As such, if infested in a home lawn, it can become a troublesome weed problem. The leaves of the bentgrass are long and slender.
Colonial Bentgrass (Agrostis tenuis) was brought to America from Europe. This was the type of grass that was used on the lawns of most estates. It is the tallest of the bents with very fine texture and like most bent grasses grows very dense. Although this bent grass has been used on golf courses and sporting fields it is better suited for lawns. Colonial Bentgrass is fairly easy to grow from seeds and fertilization of the lawn is not as intense. This grass also takes longer to establish than the Creeping variety. However it does not require the intense maintenance.
Velvet Bentgrass (Agrostis canina L.) gets it name for the velvet appearance that this grass produces. It has the finest texture of all the bent grasses. This grass was used in Europe for estate lawns and golf courses because it could be cut so short. This bent grass does require more upkeep and maintenance that the Creeping variety and because of this has been overlooked as a practical turf for current golf courses. This variety also has a lighter color than the two other varieties.
Butterfly foodplant
Butterflies whose caterpillars feed on Agrostis include:
- Zabulon Skipper, Poanes zabulon
