Grass
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An area of grass-like plants |
Grass generally describes a
monocotyledonous green
plant in the family
Poaceae, botanically regarded as true grasses. However, there are many plants outside the Poaceae family that have similar appearances to grass, with leaves rising vertically from the ground, and which are commonly called "grasses", or have "grass" as part of their name. By contrast, there are a number of plants in the family Poaceae, such as
maize,
bamboo, and
sugarcane, that do not resemble plants that lay persons commonly think of as grasses.
These include:
*
Cannabis*China grass, more commonly known as
Ramie (
Boehmeria nivea), a
nettle grown for
bast fibres, in the family
Urticaceae*Ditch grass or Wigeon grass (
Ruppia maritima) in the family
Ruppiaceae*Fish grass (
Cabomba caroliniana), a freshwater aquatic
*
Goosegrass (
Galium aparine)
*
Mondo grass or Lily turf (
Ophiopogon japonicus), an Asian ornamental ground cover
*
Nutgrass, a common lawn pest (
Cyperus rotundus) in the family
Cyperaceae*
Pepper grass (
Lipidium spp.) in the family
Brassicaceae*
Sawgrass, abundant in sub-tropical marshlands (
Cladium spp.) in the family
Cyperaceae*
Scurvy-grass (
Cochlearia species) in the family
Brassicaceae*
Scurvy-grass Sorrel (
Oxalis enneaphylla) in the family
Oxalidaceae*
Seagrasses, including
Eel grass (
Zostera spp.)
*
"Sleeping grass" (
Mimosa pudica) a
legume (family Fabaceae) and lawn weed
*
Xyridaceae, known as the yellow-eyed grass family.Grasses and grass-like plants are among the most versatile of life forms, thriving on every continent except
Antarctica. They have existed for millions of years, providing fodder for
Cretaceous dinosaurs, whose fossilized dung contains phytoliths of a variety of grasses that include the ancestors of
rice and
bamboo (Piperno & Sues, 2005). Grasses have adapted to conditions in lush
rain forests, dry
deserts, and cold mountain
steppes.
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Grass covered house in Iceland |
Grasses and grass-like plants have long had significance in human society, having been cultivated as food sources for
domesticated animals for up to 10,000 years (see
grass fed beef), and has been used to make
paper since at least as early as
2400 B.C.. In modern suburbia, a well maintained grassy
lawn is a sign of responsibility to the overall appearance of the neighborhood.
Some
idioms evoke images of grass. For example:
*"The grass is always greener on the other side" suggests that the greenness of grass is a positive quality.
*"Don't let the grass grow under your feet" references the speed with which grass grows.
*"A
snake in the grass" cautions about the dangers that may be hidden in plants that cover the ground.
*
Lawn*
Pasture*
Grassland*Chapman, G.P. and W.E. Peat. 1992. An Introduction to the Grasses. CAB Internat., Oxon, U.K.
*Cheplick, G.P. 1998. Population Biology of Grasses. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
* Milne, L. and M. Milne. 1967.
Living Plants of the World. Chaticleer Press, N.Y.
*Soderstrom, T.R., K.W. Hilu, C.S. Campbell, and M.E. Barkworth, eds. 1987. Grass Systematics and Evolution. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
* Went, Frits W. 1963.
The Plants. Time-Life Books, N.Y.
