This may be confusing to web surfers from other parts of the world. And our common names are confusing as well. For example, saw grass is not a grass, but a sedge. And the only true rushes shown here are the bog rushes of the genus Juncus . Here are several descriptions that must be remembered if you really want to be able to identify plants, particularly the grasses, sedges and rushes.
Some leaves have sheaths .
The sheath is at the base of the leaf blade and it may completely surround the stem, or it may not. The sheath may be short or it may be very long. Another part is the ligule . The ligule is an outgrowth at the junction of the leaf blade and the leaf sheath. The ligule may be hairy, or bristly, or hard or soft or may be absent altogether.