This annual bluegrass with an originally eu-Mediterranean, presently almost cosmopolitan distribution (it was described for Colombia, where it is an alien weed), is present in all Italian regions south of the Po River, and was also reported from Piedmont. It grows in openings of garrigue vegetation and in dry grasslands, but also in disturbed sites, such as on pavements and along the roads, with optimum in the Mediterranean belt. The species is common in the outer belt of the Sardinian temporary ponds. The genus name is a Greek word that means 'grass'; the species name in Latin means 'sick' and refers to the fact that the species differs from the very similar P. annua by its frail look, due to the much poorer inflorescence and spikelets. Flowering period: March to September.

Italian name(s): Fienarola minore (Italia), Poa inferma (Italia).