Agrostis gigantea

Taxobox
name = Redtop

---

image_width = 200px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Poales
familia = Poaceae
genus = "Agrostis"
species ="A. gigantea"
binomial = "Agrostis gigantea"
binomial_authority = L.
synonyms = "Agrostis alba"cite web
url = http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/redtop.htm
title = Redtop
accessdate = 2007-12-17
author = John Hilty
date = 2007-11-23
work = Grasses, Sedges, and Non-Flowering Plants of Illinois]

"Agrostis gigantea", known by its common name Redtop, is a perennial grass of the "Agrostis" genus.

It is native to Europe, but in the cooler areas of North America was widely used as a pasture grass until the 1940s. Although it has largely been replaced by soybeans and more palatable grasses, it still gets some use in poor soils. It was one of the grasses planted in areas disturbed by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. It generally does well in response to fires, due to survival of rhizomes and seeds.cite web | url = http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/graminoid/agrgig/all.html | title = Agrostis gigantea | work = Fire Effects Information System | publisher = United States Forest Service]

This species is similar to "Agrostis stolonifera", with the key difference being that the latter has stolons. In fact the two are sometimes treated as a single species, and it is not always clear precisely what an author means by "Agrostis alba" or "Agrostis stolonifera".

References

External links

*cite web
url = http://www.botany.wisc.edu/wisflora/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=AGRGIG
title = Agrostis gigantea Roth
accessdate = 2007-12-13
work = Wisconsin Botanical Information System
*cite web
url = http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/research/iowagrasses/speciespages/AgrosGigan/AgrosGigan.html
title = red top
accessdate = 2007-12-13
work = Ada Hayden Herbarium
*GrassBase | name = "Agrostis gigantea" | id = imp00153
*cite web
url = http://www.plant-identification.co.uk/skye/gramineae/agrostis-gigantea.htm
title = Black Bent
accessdate = 2007-12-13
work = Skye Flora
*cite web
url = http://www.fao.org/ag/agP/agpc/doc/Gbase/DATA/Pf000419.htm
title = Agrostis gigantea Roth
accessdate = 2007-12-13
work=Grassland Species Profiles