Agrostis · Lablypedia

Species

As of May 2024, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:

Agrostis ambatoensis Asteg.
Agrostis × amurensis Prob.
Agrostis anadyrensis Soczava
Agrostis angrenica (Butkov) Tzvelev
Agrostis × aquitanica Romero Zarco & Romero García
Agrostis arvensis Phil.
Agrostis atlantica Maire & Trab.
Agrostis australiensis Mez
Agrostis × avatschensis Prob.
Agrostis balansae (Boiss.) Tzvelev
Agrostis barikii P.Agnihotri & D.Prasad
Agrostis basalis Luces
Agrostis bergiana Trin.
Agrostis bettyae S.W.L.Jacobs
Agrostis × bjoerkmannii Widén
Agrostis blasdalei Hitchc.
Agrostis boormanii Vickery
Agrostis bourgaei E.Fourn.
Agrostis boyacensis Swallen & García-Barr.
Agrostis brachiata Munro ex Hook.f.
Agrostis brachyathera Steud.
Agrostis breviculmis Hitchc.
Agrostis burmanica Bor
Agrostis calderoniae Acosta
Agrostis canina L.
Agrostis capillaris L. (common bent, browntop)
Agrostis carmichaelii Schult. & Schult.f.
Agrostis castellana Boiss. & Reut. (highland bent)
Agrostis × castriferrei Waisb.
Agrostis clavata Trin. (northern bent)
Agrostis × clavatiformis Prob.
Agrostis clemensiorum Bor
Agrostis comorensis A.Camus
Agrostis congestiflora Tutin & E.F.Warb.
Agrostis continuata Stapf
Agrostis cypricola H.Lindb.
Agrostis czernjaginae Prob.
Agrostis decaryana A.Camus
Agrostis delislei Hemsl.
Agrostis densiflora Vasey (California bent)
Agrostis diemenica D.I.Morris
Agrostis divaricatissima Mez
Agrostis dshungarica (Tzvelev) Tzvelev
Agrostis dyeri Petrie
Agrostis elliotii Hack.
Agrostis elliottiana Schult.
Agrostis emirnensis (Baker) Bosser
Agrostis exarata Trin. (spike bent)
Agrostis filipes Hook.f.
Agrostis flaccida Hack.
Agrostis foliata Hook.f.
Agrostis × fouilladei P.Fourn.
Agrostis gariana Taheri
Agrostis ghiesbreghtii E.Fourn.
Agrostis gigantea Roth (black bent, redtop)
Agrostis × gigantifera Portal
Agrostis glabra (J.Presl) Kunth
Agrostis goughensis C.E.Hubb.
Agrostis gracilifolia C.E.Hubb.
Agrostis gracililaxa Franco
Agrostis griffithiana (Hook.f.) Bor
Agrostis hallii Vasey
Agrostis × hegetschweileri Brügger
Agrostis hendersonii Hitchc.
Agrostis hesperica Romero García, Blanca, G.López & C.Morales
Agrostis hideoi Ohwi
Agrostis hirta Veldkamp
Agrostis holgateana C.E.Hubb.
Agrostis hookeriana C.B.Clarke ex Hook.f.
Agrostis hooveri Swallen
Agrostis howellii Scribn. ex Vasey
Agrostis hugoniana Rendle
Agrostis humbertii A.Camus
Agrostis hyemalis (Walter) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb. (winter bent)
Agrostis hygrometrica Nees
Agrostis idahoensis Nash
Agrostis imbecilla Zotov
Agrostis imberbis Phil.
Agrostis inaequiglumis Griseb.
Agrostis inconspicua Kunze
Agrostis infirma Buse
Agrostis innominata Enustsch.
Agrostis insularis Rúgolo & A.M.Molina
Agrostis isopholis C.E.Hubb.
Agrostis jahnii Luces
Agrostis joyceae S.W.L.Jacobs
Agrostis juressi Link
Agrostis keniensis Pilg.
Agrostis kilimandscharica Mez
Agrostis koelerioides É.Desv.
Agrostis kolymensis Kuvaev & A.P.Khokhr.
Agrostis korczaginii Senjan.-Korcz.
Agrostis kurczenkoae Prob.
Agrostis lacuna-vernalis P.M.Peterson & Soreng
Agrostis laegaardii A.M.Molina & Rúgolo
Agrostis × lapenkoi Prob.
Agrostis laxissima Swallen
Agrostis lazica Balansa
Agrostis lehmannii Swallen
Agrostis lenis Roseng.
Agrostis leptotricha É.Desv.
Agrostis longiberbis Hack. ex Lor.B.Sm.
Agrostis mackliniae Bor
Agrostis mannii (Hook.f.) Stapf
Agrostis marojejyensis A.Camus
Agrostis masafuerana Pilg.
Agrostis media Carmich.
Agrostis mertensii Trin. (Arctic bent)
Agrostis merxmuelleri Greuter & H.Scholz
Agrostis meyenii Trin.
Agrostis micrantha Steud.
Agrostis microphylla Steud.
Agrostis montevidensis Spreng. ex Nees
Agrostis muelleriana Vickery
Agrostis munroana Aitch. & Hemsl.
Agrostis × murbeckii Fouill.
Agrostis muscosa Kirk
Agrostis musjidii Rajesw., R.R.Rao & Arti Garg
Agrostis nebulosa Boiss. & Reut.
Agrostis nervosa Nees ex Trin.
Agrostis neshatajevae Prob.
Agrostis nevadensis Boiss.
Agrostis nevskii Tzvelev
Agrostis × novograblenovii Prob.
Agrostis olympica (Boiss.) Bor
Agrostis oregonensis Vasey
Agrostis oresbia Edgar
Agrostis osakae Honda
Agrostis pallens Trin. (dune bent, seashore bent)
Agrostis pallescens Cheeseman
Agrostis × paramushirensis Prob.
Agrostis parviflora R.Br.
Agrostis paulsenii Hack.
Agrostis pendryi Paszko
Agrostis peninsularis Hook.f.
Agrostis perennans (Walter) Tuck. (upland bent)
Agrostis personata Edgar
Agrostis peschkovae Enustsch.
Agrostis petriei Hack.
Agrostis philippiana Rúgolo & De Paula
Agrostis phillipsiae R.Kr.Singh, Arigela & Ch.S.Reddy
Agrostis pilgeriana C.E.Hubb.
Agrostis pilosula Trin.
Agrostis pittieri Hack.
Agrostis platensis Parodi
Agrostis pleiophylla Mez
Agrostis pourretii Willd.
Agrostis producta Pilg.
Agrostis propinqua S.W.L.Jacobs
Agrostis quinqueseta (Steud.) Hochst.
Agrostis reuteri Boiss.
Agrostis rossiae Vasey
Agrostis rupestris All.
Agrostis salaziensis C.Cordem.
Agrostis salsa Korsh.
Agrostis sandwicensis Hillebr.
Agrostis × sanionis Asch. & Graebn.
Agrostis scabra Willd. (rough bent, tickle bent)
Agrostis scabrifolia Swallen
Agrostis schischkinii Paszko
Agrostis schmidii (Hook.f.) C.E.C.Fisch.
Agrostis schraderiana Bech.
Agrostis sclerophylla C.E.Hubb.
Agrostis serranoi Phil.
Agrostis sichotensis Prob.
Agrostis sikkimensis Bor
Agrostis sinocontracta S.M.Phillips & S.L.Lu
Agrostis sinorupestris L.Liu ex S.M.Phillips & S.L.Lu
Agrostis × stebleri (Asch. & Graebn.) Portal
Agrostis stolonifera L. (creeping bent)
Agrostis × subclavata Prob.
Agrostis subpatens Hitchc.
Agrostis subrepens (Hitchc.) Hitchc.
Agrostis subspicata (Willd.) Raspail
Agrostis subulata Hook.f.
Agrostis subulifolia Stapf
Agrostis swalalahos Otting
Agrostis tandilensis (Kuntze) Parodi (Kennedy's bent)
Agrostis tateyamensis Tateoka
Agrostis taylorii C.E.Hubb.
Agrostis tenerrima Trin.
Agrostis thompsoniae S.W.L.Jacobs
Agrostis tibestica Miré & Quézel
Agrostis tileni G.Nieto Fel. & Castrov.
Agrostis tolucensis Kunth
Agrostis × torgesii Portal
Agrostis trachychlaena C.E.Hubb.
Agrostis trachyphylla Pilg.
Agrostis trisetoides Steud.
Agrostis truncata Charit.
Agrostis tsaratananensis A.Camus
Agrostis tsiafajavonensis A.Camus
Agrostis tsitondroinensis A.Camus
Agrostis turrialbae Mez
Agrostis tuvinica Peschkova
Agrostis uliginosa Phil.
Agrostis umbellata Colla
Agrostis ushae Noltie
Agrostis × ussuriensis Prob.
Agrostis valvata Steud.
Agrostis variabilis Rydb. (mountain bent)
Agrostis venezuelana Mez
Agrostis venusta Trin.
Agrostis vidalii Phil.
Agrostis vinealis Schreb. (brown bent)
Agrostis volkensii Stapf
Agrostis wacei C.E.Hubb.
Agrostis zenkeri Trin.

Formerly placed here

Hundreds of species formerly listed in the genus Agrostis have been moved to other genera, including Achnatherum, Agrostula, Aira, Alloteropsis, Alpagrostis, Apera, Arundinella, Calamagrostis, Chionochloa, Chloris, Cinna, Colpodium, Crypsis, Cynodon, Deschampsia, Dichelachne, Digitaria, Eremochloa, Eriochloa, Eustachys, Gastridium, Graphephorum, Gymnopogon, Lachnagrostis, Leptochloa, Muhlenbergia, Pentameris, Phippsia, Piptatherum, Poa, Polypogon, Puccinellia, Reimarochloa, Relchela, Schismus, Sporobolus and Zingeria.

Former species include:

Agrostis curtisii (bristle bent) → Alpagrostis setacea
Agrostis humilis → Podagrostis humilis
Agrostis magellanica → Polypogon magellanicus
Agrostis thurberiana → Podagrostis thurberiana
Agrostis truncatula → Agrostula truncatula

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Uses

Some species of bents are commonly used for lawn grass. This is a desirable grass for golf course teeing areas, 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. The name "bent" refers to the shallow roots, which bend just below the surface of the soil to propagate laterally.

Creeping bent

Agrostis stolonifera is the most commonly used species of Agrostis. Historically, it was often called Orcheston long grass, after a village on Salisbury Plain, England. It is cultivated almost exclusively on golf courses, especially on putting greens. Creeping bent aggressively produces horizontal stems, called stolons, that run along the soil's surface. These allow creeping bent to form dense stands especially when mown at low mowing heights and outcompete bunch-type grass and broadleaf weeds. As such, if infested in a home lawn and mown at higher mowing heights, it can become a troublesome weed problem. The leaves of the bentgrass are long and slender. It can quickly take over a home lawn if it is not controlled and has very shallow roots.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and Monsanto genetically engineered creeping bent to be glyphosate-tolerant under Monsanto's Roundup Ready trademark, as "one of the first wind-pollinated, perennial, and highly outcrossing transgenic crops". In 2003, Scotts planted it as part of a large (about 160 ha) field trial in central Oregon near Madras. In 2004, its pollen was found to have reached wild growing bentgrass populations up to 14 kilometres away. Cross-pollinating Agrostis gigantea was even found at a distance of 21 kilometres. Scotts could not remove all genetically engineered plants and in 2007, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service fined them $500,000 for non-compliance with Plant Protection Act regulations.

Common bent

Agrostis capillaris, or colonial bent, 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 densely. Although this species has been used on golf courses and sporting fields it is better suited for lawns. Colonial bent is fairly easy to grow from seeds and fertilization of the lawn is not as intense. This grass also takes longer to establish than creeping bent. However it does not require the intense maintenance.

Velvet bent

Agrostis canina gets its 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. Velvet bent grass requires similar upkeep and maintenance to creeping bent. Velvet bent has recently had a resurgence in the UK due to the high demands on greens from inclement weather and speed expectations. This species also has a lighter color than the two previous species.

Butterfly food plant

Butterflies whose caterpillars feed on Agrostis include:

Zabulon skipper, Poanes zabulon