Poa arctica, the Arctic bluegrass or Arctic meadow grass, is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae, with a subarctic circumpolar distribution, extending into the Rockies. Often a dominant species in the tundra, it responds positively to disturbance.
Poa arctica is a perennial grass that spreads by rhizomes and often shows purplish coloration. Stems are 7âÂÂ60 cm tall. Leaves are narrow, smooth, and hairless, with ligules 2âÂÂ7 mm long. The flowering panicles are 3.5âÂÂ15 cm long, open and sparse, bearing 10âÂÂ40 spikelets. Spikelets are 4.5âÂÂ8 mm long, laterally compressed, and contain 2âÂÂ6 florets. Glumes are lanceolate, sometimes keeled, and usually smooth, with moderately pronounced veins.
Poa arctica R.Br., described in 1823 from Melville Island, Canada. It is the basionym of Poa cenisia subsp. arctica (R.Br.) K.Richt., published in Plantae Europaeae 1: 83 (1890).