How do wheat and bluegrass inflorescences differ?

In the Poaceae family, the primary inflorescence unit is the spikelet. The fundamental difference between the inflorescences of wheat and bluegrass (Poa) lies in how these spikelets are arranged on the plant's axis:

• Wheat: The spikelets are attached directly to a central axis without stalks, a structure known as a spike.1
• Bluegrass: These grasses feature a panicle inflorescence, where the spikelets are borne on distinct stalks called pedicels.12

While both plants utilize the spikelet as their basic reproductive unit, this distinction in attachment—sessile in wheat versus pedicellate in bluegrass—is a key morphological feature used to categorize and identify these grasses.1