Agrostis

Agrostis (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass.
Species
Agrostis aequivalvi (Arctic bent)
Agrostis agrostiflora
Agrostis alpina
Agrostis ambatoensis
Agrostis × amurensis
Agrostis anadyrensis
Agrostis angrenica
Agrostis arvensis
Agrostis atlantica
Agrostis australiensis
Agrostis bacillata
Agrostis balansae
Agrostis barceloi
Agrostis basalis
Agrostis bergiana
Agrostis bettyae
Agrostis × bjoerkmannii
Agrostis blasdalei
Agrostis boliviana
Agrostis boormanii
Agrostis bourgaei
Agrostis boyacensis
Agrostis brachiata
Agrostis brachyathera
Agrostis breviculmis
Agrostis burmanica
Agrostis calderoniae
Agrostis canina (velvet bent)
Agrostis capillaris (common bent, browntop)
Agrostis carmichaelii
Agrostis castellana (highland bent)
Agrostis × castriferrei
Agrostis clavata (northern bent)
Agrostis × clavatiformis
Agrostis clemensorum
Agrostis comorensis
Agrostis congestiflora
Agrostis continuata
Agrostis curtisii (bristle bent)
Agrostis cypricola
Agrostis decaryana
Agrostis delicatula
Agrostis delislei
Agrostis densiflora (California bent)
Agrostis diemenica
Agrostis dimorpholemma
Agrostis divaricatissima
Agrostis dshungarica
Agrostis durieui
Agrostis dyeri
Agrostis elliotii
Agrostis elliottiana
Agrostis emirnensis
Agrostis eriantha
Agrostis exarata (spike bent)
Agrostis exserta
Agrostis filipes
Agrostis flaccida
Agrostis foliata
Agrostis × fouilladeana
Agrostis gelida
Agrostis ghiesbreghtii
Agrostis gigantea (black bent, redtop)
Agrostis × gigantifera
Agrostis glabra
Agrostis goughensis
Agrostis gracilifolia
Agrostis gracililaxa
Agrostis griffithiana
Agrostis hallii
Agrostis × hegetschweileri
Agrostis hendersonii
Agrostis hesperica
Agrostis hideoi
Agrostis hirta
Agrostis holgateana
Agrostis hookeriana
Agrostis hooveri
Agrostis howellii
Agrostis hugoniana
Agrostis humbertii
Agrostis humilis
Agrostis hyemalis (winter bent)
Agrostis hygrometrica
Agrostis idahoensis
Agrostis imbecilla
Agrostis imberbis
Agrostis inaequiglumis
Agrostis inconspicua
Agrostis infirma
Agrostis innominata
Agrostis insularis
Agrostis isopholis
Agrostis jahnii
Agrostis joyceae
Agrostis juressii
Agrostis keniensis
Agrostis kilimandscharica
Agrostis koelerioides
Agrostis kolymensis
Agrostis korczaginii
Agrostis lacuna-vernalis
Agrostis laxissima
Agrostis lazica
Agrostis lehmannii
Agrostis lenis
Agrostis leptotricha
Agrostis liebmannii
Agrostis longiberbis
Agrostis mackliniae
Agrostis magellanica
Agrostis mannii
Agrostis marojejyensis
Agrostis masafuerana
Agrostis media
Agrostis mertensii (Arctic bent)
Agrostis merxmuelleri
Agrostis meyenii
Agrostis micrantha
Agrostis microphylla
Agrostis montevidensis
Agrostis muelleriana
Agrostis munroana
Agrostis × murbeckii
Agrostis muscosa
Agrostis musjidii
Agrostis nebulosa
Agrostis nervosa
Agrostis nevadensis
Agrostis nevskii
Agrostis nipponensis
Agrostis novogaliciana
Agrostis × novograblenovii
Agrostis olympica
Agrostis oregonensis
Agrostis oresbia
Agrostis pallens (dune bent, seashore bent)
Agrostis pallescens
Agrostis × paramushirensis
Agrostis parviflora
Agrostis paulsenii
Agrostis peninsularis
Agrostis perennans (upland bent)
Agrostis personata
Agrostis peschkovae
Agrostis petriei
Agrostis philippiana
Agrostis pilgeriana
Agrostis pilosula
Agrostis pittieri
Agrostis platensis
Agrostis pleiophylla
Agrostis pourretii
Agrostis producta
Agrostis propinqua
Agrostis quinqueseta
Agrostis reuteri
Agrostis rosei
Agrostis rossiae
Agrostis rupestris
Agrostis salaziensis
Agrostis salsa
Agrostis sandwicensis
Agrostis × sanionis
Agrostis scabra (rough bent, tickle bent)
Agrostis scabrifolia
Agrostis schaffneri
Agrostis schleicheri
Agrostis schmidii
Agrostis sclerophylla
Agrostis serranoi
Agrostis sesquiflora
Agrostis sichotensis
Agrostis sikkimensis
Agrostis sinocontracta
Agrostis sinorupestris
Agrostis × stebleri
Agrostis stolonifera (creeping bent)
Agrostis × subclavata
Agrostis subpatens
Agrostis subrepens
Agrostis subulata
Agrostis subulifolia
Agrostis tandilensis (Kennedy's bent)
Agrostis tateyamensis
Agrostis taylorii
Agrostis tenerrima
Agrostis thompsoniae
Agrostis thurberiana
Agrostis tibestica
Agrostis tileni
Agrostis tolucensis
Agrostis × torgesii
Agrostis trachychlaena
Agrostis trachyphylla
Agrostis trichodes
Agrostis trisetoides
Agrostis tsaratananensis
Agrostis tsiafajavonensis
Agrostis tsitondroinensis
Agrostis turrialbae
Agrostis tuvinica
Agrostis uhligii
Agrostis uliginosa
Agrostis umbellata
Agrostis ushae
Agrostis × ussuriensis
Agrostis variabilis (mountain bent)
Agrostis venezuelana
Agrostis venusta
Agrostis vidalii
Agrostis vinealis (brown bent)
Agrostis virescens
Agrostis volkensii
Agrostis wacei
Agrostis zenkeri
Hundreds of species formerly listed in the genus Agrostis have been moved to other genera, including Achnatherum, Aira, Alloteropsis, Apera, Arundinella, Calamagrostis, Chaetopogon, 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.
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 under conducive conditions and outcompete 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. 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
See also
Dollar spot
List of Poaceae genera
References
External links
Interactive Key to Agrostis of North America
Lawn grasses
Poaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus