Agrostis stolonifera

{{Short description|Species of grass}} {{Speciesbox | image = Agrostis Wuchs.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Lansdown, R.V. |date=2014 |title=''Agrostis stolonifera'' |volume=2014 |article-number=e.T164020A42383133 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T164020A42383133.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name=NS>{{cite NatureServe |id=2.147143 |title=''Agrostis stolonifera'' |access-date=10 December 2024}}</ref> | genus = Agrostis | species = stolonifera | authority = L., 1753 | synonyms_ref = <ref name= plants>{{PLANTS |symbol=AGST2 |taxon=Agrostis stolonifera |access-date=2010-03-16}}</ref> | synonyms = {{collapsible list| *''Agrostis adscendens'' Lange *''Agrostis alba'' L. var. ''palustris'' (Huds.) Pers. *''Agrostis alba'' L. var. ''stolonifera'' (L.) Sm. *''Agrostis capillaris'' Pollich *''Agrostis filifolia'' Link *''Agrostis karsensis'' Litv. *''Agrostis maritima'' Lam. *''Agrostis palustris'' Huds. *''Agrostis stolonifera'' L. subsp. ''prorepens'' Koch *''Agrostis stolonifera'' L. var. ''compacta'' Hartm. *''Agrostis stolonifera'' L. var. ''palustris'' (Huds.) Farw. *''Agrostis stolonizans'' Schult. & Schult. f. *''Agrostis straminea'' Hartm. *''Agrostis zerovii'' Klokov }}}}

'''''Agrostis stolonifera''''' ('''creeping bentgrass''', '''creeping bent''', '''fiorin''', '''spreading bent''' or '''carpet bentgrass'''<ref name= plants/><ref name= grin>{{GRIN | accessdate = 2010-03-16}}</ref><ref name= feis>{{FEIS |type=graminoid |genus=Agrostis |species=stolonifera |last=Esser |first=Lora L. |date=1994 |access-date=2010-03-16}}</ref>) is a perennial grass species in the family Poaceae. It is widely used as turf for golf courses.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1614/WT-D-14-00045.1 |title=Influence of Herbicide Safeners on Creeping Bentgrass ( ''Agrostis stolonifera'' ) Tolerance to Herbicides |date=2015 |last1=Elmore |first1=Matthew T. |last2=Brosnan |first2=James T. |last3=Armel |first3=Gregory R. |last4=Vargas |first4=Jose J. |last5=Breeden |first5=Gregory K. |journal=Weed Technology |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=550–560 |bibcode=2015WeedT..29..550E |s2cid=86197665 }}</ref> 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 {{convert|0.4|-|1.0|m}} long with {{convert|2|-|10|cm|adj=on}} long leaf blades and a panicle reaching up to {{convert|40|cm|abbr=on}} in height.

The ligule is pointed and up to {{convert|5|mm}} 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.<ref>[http://www.bsbi.org.uk/identification.html BSBI Description] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717004923/http://www.bsbi.org.uk/identification.html |date=2011-07-17 }} retrieved 2010-11-16.</ref>

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).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Connor |date=2000 |title=Agrostis L. |url=https://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/taxa/48928e73-6cd5-4863-80e4-6b55f471f954}}</ref> In New Zealand, it is suspected to hybridise with ''A. castellana'', complicating identification.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Edgar |first1=E. |last2=Forde |first2=M. B. |date=April 1991 |title=Agrostis L. in New Zealand |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0028825X.1991.10416717 |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |language=en |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=139–161 |doi=10.1080/0028825X.1991.10416717 |bibcode=1991NZJB...29..139E |issn=0028-825X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

''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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=×agropogon lutosus - FNA |url=https://floranorthamerica.org/%C3%97agropogon_lutosus |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=floranorthamerica.org}}</ref>

==Distribution== ''A. stolonifera'' is native to Eurasia and North Africa (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia). It is possible that it may also be native to northern parts of North America, and in any case it has been widely introduced and naturalised on that continent and in many other places.<ref name= grin/>

In New Zealand, ''Agrostis stolonifera'' naturalised in 1878, and is widespread throughout both main islands, as well as Chatham Islands, Auckland Islands, and Campbell Island.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Agrostis stolonifera |url=https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/agrostis-stolonifera/ |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network |language=en}}</ref> As a weed of wetland areas, it competes with the Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable ''Lachnagrostis tenuis'', and the At Risk - Declining ''Amphibromus fluitans''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agrostis stolonifera |url=https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/agrostis-stolonifera/ |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Amphibromus fluitans |url=https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/amphibromus-fluitans/ |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network |language=en}}</ref>

== Habitat == It can be found growing in a variety of habitats including woodlands, grasslands and meadows, wetlands, riparian zones, and as a pioneer species on disturbed sites.<ref name="feis" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Connor |date=2000 |title=Agrostis stolonifera L. |url=https://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/taxa/be159297-9136-4b3d-bc29-c7f6cf85d08c}}</ref>

In New Zealand, ''A. stolonifera'' is recognised as a Facultative Wetland plant, meaning that it is usually associated with wetlands and aquatic habitats.<ref name=":0" /> It can exist up to {{convert|2500|ft}}.<ref>{{cite book |author =C. E. Hubbard |author-link =Charles Edward Hubbard |year=1978 |title=Grasses |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-013227-4}}</ref>

==Cultivation== It is the most commonly used species of ''Agrostis''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://delta-intkey.com/grass/www/agrostis.htm |title=The grass genera of the world: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval; including synonyms, morphology, anatomy, physiology, phytochemistry, cytology, classification, pathogens, world and local distribution, and references |access-date=2009-08-19 |author1=L. Watson |author2=M. J. Dallwitz |year=2008 |work=The Grass Genera of the World |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724221848/http://www.delta-intkey.com/grass/www/agrostis.htm |archive-date=2008-07-24 }}</ref>

It is used for turf in gardens and landscapes, particularly on golf courses.<ref name= feis/> Many of the putting greens as well as an increasing number of fairways in the northern United States are creeping bentgrass.

==Transgenic varieties==

In the 1990s, Scotts Miracle-Gro and Monsanto looked to produce glyphosate-resistant creeping bentgrass through an early use of transgenics. Plants were grown in the open at an experimental farm in Oregon in 2003. This led to the accidental establishment of uncontrolled feral populations through windborne seeds and pollen. Scotts Miracle-Gro was fined $500,000 as a result.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Notarianni |first1=John |title=How A Botched Experiment Sent GMO Grass Creeping Across Oregon |url=https://www.opb.org/news/article/gmo-grass-oregon-creeping-bent-scotts-monsanto/ |access-date=29 November 2022 |publisher=OPB |date=July 21, 2018}}</ref> In 2017, the USDA agreed not to regulate it at Scotts request, which meant that Scotts "will no longer be legally required to pay to clean up the grass after 2017, though it has promised to do so."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Main |first1=Douglas |title=USDA Agrees to Not Regulate Genetically Modified Grass On the Loose In Oregon |url=https://www.newsweek.com/usda-agrees-not-regulate-gmo-grass-loose-oregon-550942 |access-date=29 November 2022 |date=January 17, 2017}}</ref> A 2004 study documented gene flow of transgenic plants on a landscape level, with ''sentinel'' and ''resident plants'' observed by scientist at a maximum at {{convert|21|km}} and {{convert|14|km|abbr=on}} (respectively), located in primarily nonagronomic places such as irrigation ditches.<ref name=AStolonifPollens2004>{{cite journal|author=Lidia S. Watrud |author2=E. Henry Lee |author3=Anne Fairbrother |author4=Connie Burdick |author5=Jay R. Reichman |author6=Mike Bollman |author7=Marjorie Storm |author8=George King |author9=Peter K. Van de Water |name-list-style=amp |title=Evidence for landscape-level, pollen-mediated gene flow from genetically modified creeping bentgrass with ''CP4 EPSPS'' as a marker |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=101 |issue=40 |pages=14533–14538 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0405154101 |bibcode=2004PNAS..10114533W |pmid=15448206 |pmc=521937 |year=2004 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Subsequently, a 2017 study found that despite mitigation efforts, the transgene was still present in feral populations of the ''A. stolonifera''. Furthermore, it found that transgenic ''A. stolonifera'' had hybridised with ''A. gigantea'' and ''Polypogon monspeliensis'', producing potentially transgenic hybrid offspring.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zapiola |first1=María Luz |last2=Mallory-Smith |first2=Carol Ann |date=2017-03-03 |editor-last=Olsen |editor-first=Kenneth M |title=Pollen-mediated gene flow from transgenic perennial creeping bentgrass and hybridization at the landscape level |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=12 |issue=3 |article-number=e0173308 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0173308 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=5336273 |pmid=28257488 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1273308Z }}</ref> Hybrids between ''A. stolonifera'' and ''A. gigantea'' are fertile, raising the possibility that the transgene could spread into populations of ''A. gigantea''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wipff |first=J.K. |date=2002 |title=Gene flow in turf and forage grasses (Poaceae) |url=https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/20093175136 |journal=Ecological and Agronomic Consequences of Gene Flow from Transgenic Crops to Wild Relatives. Meeting Proceedings}}</ref> However, intergeneric hybrids with ''Polypogon monspeliensis'' (called ''×Agropogon'') are thought to be sterile.<ref name=":1" />

Other work in transgenic bentgrass looks into salinity tolerance. The improved performance of the transgenic plants was associated with higher relative water content, higher sodium uptake and lower solute leakage in leaf tissues, with higher concentrations of Na+, K+, Cl- and total phosphorus in root tissues, and with higher auxin accumulation rate in the root tissue. This transgenic plant can survive in the presence of 1.7% sodium chloride (half seawater salinity concentration), while the non transgenic line and wild type plants cannot.<ref>ZHIGANG LI, Christian M. Baldwin, Qian Hu, Haibo Liu, Hong Luo (2010). Heterologous Expression of Arabidopsis H+-PPase Enhances Salt Tolerance in Transgenic Creeping Bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.). Plant, Cell and Environ, Volume 33 Issue 2, P. 272–289.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

stolonifera Category:Flora of temperate Asia Category:Flora of tropical Asia Category:Flora of Europe Category:Flora of North Africa Category:Lawn grasses Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Grasses of New Zealand