? True grasses
Flowering head of Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis), with stamens exserted at anthesis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae (R.Br.) Barnhart
Subfamilies
There are 7 subfamilies: Subfamily Arundinoideae Subfamily Bambusoideae Subfamily Centothecoideae Subfamily Chloridoideae Subfamily Panicoideae Subfamily Pooideae Subfamily Stipoideae Image File history File links Download high resolution version (960x1280, 255 KB)A meadow foxtail grass head. ... Binomial name Alopecurus pratensis L. The Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis), also known as the Field Meadow Foxtail, is a perennial grass, belonging to the grass family (Poaceae). ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Orders Base Monocots: Acorus Alismatales Asparagales Dioscoreales Liliales Pandanales Family Petrosaviaceae Commelinids: Arecales Commelinales Poales Zingiberales Family Dasypogonaceae Monocotyledons or monocots are a group of flowering plants usually ranked as a class and once called the Monocotyledoneae. ... Families (APG) Anarthriaceae Bromeliaceae Centrolepidaceae Cyperaceae Ecdeiocoleaceae Eriocaulaceae Flagellariaceae Hydatellaceae Joinvilleaceae Juncaceae Mayacaceae Poaceae Rapateaceae Restionaceae Sparganiaceae Thurniaceae Typhaceae Xyridaceae The Poales is a cosmopolitan order of monocotyledonous flowering plants. ... Bold textbuttRobert Brown (December 21, 1773 - June 10, 1858) is acknowledged as the leading British botanist to collect in Australia during the first half of the 19th century. ... Genera Tribe Amphipogoneae  Amphipogon  Diplopogon Tribe Aristideae  Aristida  Sartidia  Stipagrosti Tribe Arundineae  Arundo  Dichaetaria  Gynerium  Hakonechloa  Molinia  Phragmites  Thysanolaena Tribe Cyperochloeae  Cyperochloa Tribe Danthonieae  Alloeochaete  Centropodia  Chaetobromus  Chionochloa  Cortaderia  Crinipes  Danthonia  Danthonidium  Dregeochloa  Duthiea  Elytrophorus  Erythranthera  Habrochloa  Karroochloa  Lamprothyrsus  Merxmuellera  Metcalfia  Monachather  Monostachya  Nematopoa  Notochloë  Pentameris  Pentaschistis  Phaenanthoecium  Plinthanthesis  Poagrostis... Genera See text The Bambusoideae is a subfamily of the true grass family Poaceae. ... Genera  Bromuniola  Calderonella  Centotheca  Chasmanthium  Chevalierella  Gouldochloa  Lophatherum  Megastachya  Orthoclada  Pohlidium  Zeugites The Centothecoideae is a subfamily of the true grass family (Poaceae). ... Subdivisions See text Chloridoideae is a subfamily of the true grass family (Poaceae). ... Subdivisions See text Panicoideae is a subfamily of the true grass family. ... Subdivisions See text The Pooideae is a subfamily of the true grass family Poaceae. ... Genera Tribe Ampelodesmeae  Ampelodesmos Tribe Anisopogoneae  Anisopogon Tribe Brachyelytreae  Brachyelytrum Tribe Lygeae  Lygeum Tribe Nardeae  Nardus Tribe Stipeae  Achnatherum  Aciachne  Anemanthele  Austrostipa  Danthoniastrum  Hesperostipa  Lorenzochloa  Jarava  Nassella  Orthachne  Oryzopsis  Piptatherum  Piptochaetium  Psammochloa  Ptilagrostis  Stipa  Trikeraia Stipoideae is a subfamily of the true grass family (Poaceae). ...

The true grasses are monocotyledonous plants (Class Liliopsida) in the Family Poaceae, also known as Gramineae. There are about 600 genera and perhaps 10,000 species of grasses. It is estimated grasslands comprise 20% of the vegetation cover of the earth. This family is the most important of all plant families to human economies, including lawn and forage grasses, the staple food grains grown around the world, and bamboo, widely used for construction throughout Asia. Orders Base Monocots: Acorus Alismatales Asparagales Dioscoreales Liliales Pandanales Family Petrosaviaceae Commelinids: Arecales Commelinales Poales Zingiberales Family Dasypogonaceae The Monocotyledons or monocots are an extremely important group of flowering plants, dominating great parts of the earth and with many economically important plants. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Orders Base Monocots: Acorus Alismatales Asparagales Dioscoreales Liliales Pandanales Family Petrosaviaceae Commelinids: Arecales Commelinales Poales Zingiberales Family Dasypogonaceae Monocotyledons or monocots are a group of flowering plants usually ranked as a class and once called the Monocotyledoneae. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ... World map showing Asia (geographically) Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia and worlds largest continent. ...

Grasses generally have the following characteristics:

• Typically hollow stems (called culms), plugged at intervals (the nodes).
• Leaves, arising at nodes, alternate, distichous (in one plane) or rarely spiral, and parallel-veined.
• Leaves differentiated into a lower sheath hugging the stem for a distance and a blade with margin usually entire; a ligule (a membranous appendage or ring of hairs) lies at the junction between sheath and blade.
• Small, wind-pollinated flowers (called florets) sheathed inside two glumes (bracts), lacking petals, and grouped into spikelets, these arranged in a panicle, raceme, spike, or head.
• Fruit that is a caryopsis.

Until recently grasses were thought to have evolved around 55 million years ago, based on fossil records. However, recent findings of 65-million-year-old grass phytoliths including ancestors of rice and bamboo in Cretaceous dinosaur coprolites ([1], [2]), places the diversification of grasses to an earlier date. The growth of grasses from the base of the blade rather than from growing tips gave the grasses an edge under the pressures of grazing herbivores. In common parlance, a stem is any elongated, usually narrow, extension or supporting structure of an object. ... A culm was originally a stem of any type of plant. ... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... Wind is the quasi-horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by Howard Sterns asshole. ... Bumblebee and honeybee pollinating a sedum telephinum Pollination is an important step in the reproduction of seed plants: the transfer of pollen grains (male gametes) to the plant carpel, the structure that contains the ovule (female gamete). ... Wildflowers Flower (Latin flos, floris; French fleur), a term popularly used for the bloom or blossom of a plant, is the reproductive structure of those plants classified as angiosperms (flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). ... Toothed bracts on Rhinanthus minor In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, from the axil of which a flower or flower stalk arises; or a bract may be any leaf associated with an inflorescence. ... This inflorescence of the terrestrial orchid Spathoglottis plicata is a typical raceme. ... White-fruited Rowan (Sorbus glabrescens) corymb; note the branched structures holding the fruits. ... This inflorescence of the terrestrial orchid Spathoglottis plicata is a typical raceme. ... This inflorescence of the terrestrial orchid Spathoglottis plicata is a typical raceme. ... Example of a flower head. ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Catalonia. ... In botany, a caryopsis is a type of simple dry fruit — one that is moncarpelate (formed from a single carpel) and indehiscent (not opening at maturity) and resembles an achene, except that in a caryopsis the pericarp is fused with the thin seed coat. ... A Phytolith is a rigid microscopic body that occurs in many plants. ... Binomial name Oryza sativa L. Rice (Oryza sativa) is a species of grass in the genus Oryza, native to tropical and subtropical southeastern Asia, where it grows in wetlands. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ... The Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period (about 146 MYA) to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65. ... Orders Saurischia    Sauropodomorpha    Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs are animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 100 million years. ... Coprolites are fossilized feces, or animal dung. ...

Cultivation and uses

Wheat crop

Agricultural grasses grown for human food production are called cereals. Cereals constitute the major source of food energy for humans and perhaps the major source of protein, and include rice in South and Southeast Asia, maize in Central and South America, and wheat and barley in the Americas and North Eurasia. Many other grasses are also grown for forage and fodder for animal food, particularly for sheep and cattle. Photograph of a wheat field taken by Tarquin. ... Photograph of a wheat field taken by Tarquin. ... Species T. boeoticum T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat (Triticum spp. ... Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens For other uses, see Human (disambiguation). ... Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds (actually a fruit called a caryopsis). ... Food energy is the amount of energy in food. ... Binomial name Oryza sativa L. Rice (Oryza sativa) is a species of grass in the genus Oryza, native to tropical and subtropical southeastern Asia, where it grows in wetlands. ... [[Image:India_78. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Species T. boeoticum T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat (Triticum spp. ... Binomial name Hordeum vulgare L. Barley (Hordeum) is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. ... Map of America by Jonghe, c. ... North Eurasia often refers to Europe except for Mediterranean and Black Sea countries; Russia except for the Northern Caucasus; Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Manchuria and northern Japan. ... Forage is the herbaceous plant material (mainly grasses and legumes) eaten by grazing animals. ... In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed livestock, such as cattle, sheep, chickens and pigs. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Subregnum Bilateria Acoelomorpha Orthonectida Rhombozoa Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Species See text A Sheep is a mammal, one of several woolly ruminant quadrupeds in the genus Ovis. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ...

Some commonly known grass plants are:

• maize
• wheat
• rice
• rye
• ryegrass
• sugarcane
• barley
• bamboo

Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... Species T. boeoticum T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat (Triticum spp. ... Binomial name Oryza sativa L. Rice (Oryza sativa) is a species of grass in the genus Oryza, native to tropical and subtropical southeastern Asia, where it grows in wetlands. ... Binomial name Secale cereale M.Bieb. ... Species See text Ryegrass (Lolium) is a genus of nine species of tufted grasses, family Poaceae. ... Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugar cane Saccharum officinarum at Kew Gardens, London Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of between 6–37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall grasses (family Poaceae, tribe... Binomial name Hordeum vulgare L. Barley (Hordeum) is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ...

See also

• agrostology
• grass
• sedges
• Meadow-grass
• Marram grass
• Bahia grass

Agrostology is the scientific study of grasses. ... In popular language grass means a short, green, ground covering or lawn, usually, but not necessarily comprised of a true grass or grasses, called turf. ... Genera See text The Family Cyperaceae, or the Sedge family, is a taxon of monocot flowering plants that superficially resemble grasses or rushes. ... Species About 500 species, including: Poa abbreviata - Short Bluegrass Poa alpigena - Northern Meadow-grass Poa alpina - Alpine Meadow-grass Poa alsodes - Grove Bluegrass Poa angustifolia - Narrow-leaved Meadow-grass Poa annua - Annual Meadow-grass Poa arachnifera - Texas Bluegrass Poa arctica - Arctic Meadow-grass Poa badensis Poa bulbosa - Bulbous Meadow-grass... Marram grass - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Binomial name Paspalum notatum Flueggé Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum), also known as Common bahai and Pensacola bahai, is a tropical to subtropical perennial grass (family Poaceae). ...

External links and references

• Definitions of Grass structures
• Poaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz] (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.
• L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). 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.