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Summary

Agrostis stolonifera (creeping bentgrass, creeping bent, fiorin, spreading bent or carpet bentgrass) is a perennial grass species in the family Poaceae. It is widely used as turf for golf courses. It flowers in spring and summer months.

Description

Agrostis stolonifera is stoloniferous and may form mats or tufts. The prostrate stems of this species grow to 0.4–1.0 metre (1 ft 4 in – 3 ft 3 in) long with 2–10-centimetre (0.79–3.94 in) long leaf blades and a panicle reaching up to 40 cm (16 in) in height.

The ligule is pointed and up to 5 millimetres (0.20 in) long. This differs from common bent, Agrostis capillaris, which is short and does not come to a point.

The leaves are tapering, often with a blue-grey colour. The grass is not tufted and the spikelets are red and tightly closed within the panicle.

Where ranges overlap, A. stolonifera is easily confused with the stoloniferous A. gigantea and A. castellana. From those species, it can be distinguished by its thinner panicle (0.5-2.5cm wide, versus 4-8cm wide). In New Zealand, it is suspected to hybridise with A. castellana, complicating identification.

A. stolonifera and Polypogon monspesulensis are the parents of the sterile intergeneric hybrid ×Agropogon lutosus. From A. stolonifera, ×Agropogon differs by its awned lemmas. From P. monspesulensis, ×Agropogon differs in having more persistent spikelets, and lemmas with subterminal awns.

ligule is pointed up to 5mm long leaf blade Inflorescence