### plant | tracheophyte | herb:

Grass
* All grasses are edible, but the cellulose can be difficult to digest
  - narrow leaf
  - unique, growing in a distinctly different fashion from other plants
* All grasses have parallel venation
  - some insect problems - none are resistant
  - prefer sun, although some tolerate shade better than others
* Any grass has fibrous roots.
* Many grass feeding desert leafhoppers have short wings and are unable to fly.
* Many grasses are also in flower
  - less wear resistance than other
  - self-compatible annuals that invest a large portion of their energy as fruits
  - short , but some grasses , like bamboo can grow very tall
  - very easy to grow
  - can live quite happily under a heavy layer of snow
  - continue to pollinate all summer and even into the fall
  - encourage touch as well
  - grow erectly, but others flow outward in a graceful vase or fountain shape
  - grown in Florida make good hay for horses
* Many grasses have a rhizome, stolon, etc
  - below ground rhizomes connecting above ground shoots or tillers
  - panicles of flowers
* More grass is taken when new green growth appears in spring.
* Most grass competes with wildflowers
  - dominates environments
* Most grass has density
* Most grass has lower density
  - mean density
  - ranges
  - seeds
  - is grown in early summer
  - occurs in locations
* Most grass produces grass seeds
  - provides brood habitats
  - stems are round and hollow like straws
  - grasses actually prefer poor soil conditions
* Most grasses are adequate in calcium
  - annual or perennial herbs with fibrous roots and, often, rhizomes
  - at their peak in the fall, with an array of colorful seed heads
  - clump growers, but some have a spreading habit
  - easy to grow and quick to bloom, reaching maturity in one or two seasons
  - late to renew growth
  - resistant to picloram, so it is used in range management programs
  - wind-pollinated
  - benefit by being cut back, usually just before new growth begins in the spring
  - depend on wind to pollinate
  - dislike lots of fertilizer
  - do the same, as do brown-eyed susans, coneflowers, and many others
  - fit into two basic groups, bunch grass and sod-forming grass
* Most grasses have a ligule at the junction of the leaf sheath and leaf blade
  - hollow stems, but the bluestems have pithy stems like corn
  - leaf sheaths
  - linear leaves
  - pollinate in the wet season
* Most grasses prefer a location in full sun
  - sunny area, especially the more brightly colored varieties
  - produce the majority of their growth in the early summer
* Most grasses take on a dull purplish cast and leaf blades begin to fold or roll
  - dull, dark blue appearance and the blades begin to roll
  - tend to be fairly adaptable and responsive to garden conditions
* Some grass causes central nervous system problems.
* Some grass competes with plants
  - seedlings
  - feeds cattle
* Some grass has nutrition
  - proper nutrition
  - is used for sewing, and is sometimes called wrapping grass, it is strong and flexible
  - possesses grasshoppers
* Some grass produces buds
  - stolons
* Some grasses are annual grasses
  - more prone to thatch accumulation than others
  - can become weedy, especially south of Nebraska
* Some grasses grow along the shorelines of ponds or lakes
  - in shade and some in sun
  - have additional stems that grow sideways, either below ground or just above it
  - inherently have more problems with specific insects than others
  - produce unusual flowers and offer brightly colored foliage with interesting textures
  - tend to form a thick layer of thatch
  - withstand foot traffic or wear better than others.
  * Many grasses are short, but some grasses, like bamboo can grow very tall. Plants from the grass family can grow in many places, even if they are very cold or very dry
* add interest to a garden by changing with the seasons.
* also appear dark green and stunted with leaf burn symptoms
  - are among the oldest of cultivated crops
  - can reduce soil erosion and enhance wildlife habitat
  - have flowers
  - help hold the flowers upright, and provide cover and seeds for birds
  - provide cover for small mammals like voles and shrews
  - support the wildflowers, and provide cover and seeds for birds
  - tend to turn darker in color as they go under drought stress
  - thrive in an environment with periodic fire
* appear in Miocene
  - to be their preferred roosting sites
* are A. gymnosperms.
* are a dominant plant of the western landscape
  - mainstay
  - able to survive fires because they grow from the bottom instead of the top
* are also difficult to manage with cultivation because of their fibrous root systems
  - important food for waterfowl
  - wind pollinated flowering plants
  - an important source of food for people as well as animals
  - annuals, perennials and biennials
  - attractive to egg-laying armyworm moths and stalk borer moths
  - blue grama, sideoats, grama, white tidena, vine mesquite, and Indian grass
  - cosmopolitan from the equator to the arctic circle
  - deeply rooted and form a continuous cover
  - easier to maintain and less prone to hang into the water
* are easy to grow if fed the right nutrients
  - move, even when mature
  - eaten primarily after rain, and before herbs and forbs are available
  - effective in preventing soil erosion, whereas dicots usually have a tap root system
  - especially beautiful near water, among rocks and stones and lining pathways
* are essential to anchoring arid topsoil in a dryland region
  - the environment
  - fairly disease resistant
  - food for the majority of the world's domestic and wild grazing animals
  - found in the full sunlight of a field rather than in shady woodland
  - great for dry soil
  - in condition to burn
  - invaluable in soil conservation because of their ability to hold soil in place
* are mainly bermudagrass or native grasses
  - bluestem, buffalograss, and threeawn grass
  - common bermudagrass and dallisgrass
  - gramas, tridens or threeawns
  - species of andropogon, paspalum and panicum
  - monocotyledons, so that when the seeds germinate each one sends up a single leaf
  - most abundant in prairies, savannas, steppes, and other open habitats
  - multistemmed plants with fibrous root systems
* are one of the most common perennial plants that grow in a prairie
  - important plants within the grassland ecosystem found in the park
  - only edible to herbivores
  - part of the monocotyledon plant group, also referred to as monocots
* are particularly effective near the seashore or in pondside plantings
  - insidious weeds
  - replaced by shrubs, which in turn give way to trees and their associated vegetation
  - some of the most successful plants on Earth, found in almost every ecosystem
  - sometimes bent to create shelter
  - specially preferred during the early wet season
* are sun-loving plants, for the most part
  - tall or short, depending on the availability of moisture
* are the basic fabric of the prairie since they are uniquely adapted for life in the open
  - dominant plant life in the savanna
* are the dominant plants in most forage-based enterprises throughout the world
  - various ecosystems
  - plants, while grazing and burrowing species are the dominant animals
  - plants,while grazing and burrowing species are the dominant animals
  - prairie vegetation
  - main form of plant life on the savannah
* are the most common cause of allergy
  - successful of all plants
  - only plants that can stand up to repeated recreational use
  - world's most widely-distributed flowering plants
  - their food
  - tolerant of most soil conditions and they benefit from mulch
  - unusual angiosperms because they lack flowers and fruit
  - useful in different types of landscapes, including native, plains and meadow
  - usually less than a meter tall
* are very adaptable, growing in poorer soils than many other garden plants
  - basic plants with a root, stem and flower
  - competitive in gardens and make harvesting difficult
  - distinctive plants
  - successful, efficient plants
  - wheat and wild oats
* are, well, grasses.
* become dominant with increasing fuel loads and high-intensity fires.
* becomes weeds.
* begin to grow in the bottom, and mud, formerly carried off by the river, thickens
  - show signs of growth
* build a very hardy and extensive root system.
* can also reduce the risk of digestive upsets
  - use broadcast phosphorus
* can be annual or perennial
  - the most pervasive of all weeds
  - chemically retard tree growth
  - grow in wide geographical ranges that include a broad variety of edaphic conditions
  - reach several meters in length and float at the top of the water
  - sometimes be a little more difficult to identify
  - withstand trampling better and so are able to protect the soil in higher velocity winds
* can, therefore, reach water that is unavailable to the shallower-rooted rhododendron.
* change color from brilliant green to ocher as the seasons pass.
* come in many heights, colors, textures and water requirements
  - next in the spring and early summer
  - with various heights, flower types, blooming times and foliage characteristics
* compete very strongly for Potassium, such as in grass dominated early spring pastures
  - with tree seedlings
* compose most of their diet.
* consist mainly of sand bluestem, little bluestem, and sand saltbrush.
* consist of big and little bluestems, indiangrass, and sunflower
  - native species of western wheatgrass
* contain chlorophyll, which gives plants their green color
  - crude fibres, crude protein and some minerals
* cover nearly one third of the earth and one half of the area of the United States.
* covers alpine zones
* create oxygen and absorb pollutants such as soot, dust and carbon monoxide.
* develop beautiful seed heads in the fall.
* differ in their tendency to produce thatch.
* do best with spring and summer seedings
  - better when the whole root zone is wetted and then partially dries out between waterings
  - have flowers, but they are small and lack showy petals
  - peak at different times, but they all become somewhat dormant in mid-summer
  - well on prairies
* enter largely into the construction of all the nests.
* establish a taproot upon germination.
* evolve, allowing an adaptive radiation of rodents and snakes.
* exhibit stunting, chlorosis and a gradual reddening of the tips followed by necrosis.
* feed the world.
* form tough fibrous roots that anchor the plant into the ground.
* generally have fibrous root systems.
* grow better after a fire, attracting game animals to the new forage
  - everywhere in the world, from the Arctic Circle into the jungles near the equator
  - from the base of the leaf rather than the tip
  - on many terraces
  - poorly in dense shade
  - rapidly when moisture is available
  - taller here than in cooler, drier regions
* growing in compacted soil tend to be shallow-rooted.
* has complex structures
  - cuts
* have a competitive advantage over trees in areas that experience frequent disturbance
  - subapical meristem- a growing region that is located below the tip of the plant
  - very simple structure, and a very simple way of life
  - extensive root systems which remain alive after a burn
  - the lowest sulfur needs
* help control runoff and encourage infiltration of water and pollutants into the soil
  - hold the soil while the flowers become established
* hold sand dunes in place.
* includes cell membranes
  - cells
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - nuclei
  - plasma membranes
  - sections
  - vacuoles
  - vegetables
* inhabit the earth in greater abundance than any other group of plants.
* is capable of burns
  - edibles
* is located in countrysides
  - fairgrounds
  - lawns
  - parks
  - rest areas
  - state parks
  - open air
* make up most of their diet, along with forbs and occasionally seeds and insects
  - the bulk of the wild budgerigars' diet, especially after rain, followed by forbs
* occupy only a fraction of their historic habitat.
* occur as annuals or perennials and both produce an abundance of small seeds.
* play a major part in helping to keep erosion at bay.
* pollinate in late spring and ragweed in the fall
* possess rhizomes.
* produce huge quantities of pollen and seed.
* protect soil during the winter and also produce great forage or plowdown organic matter.
* provide food for adult turkeys, and an environment for poults to find insects.
  - food sources
  - ideal habitats
  - perfect food sources
  - rear habitats
  - resources
* reduce weed invasion and soil erosion.
* release pollen during the daytime.
* reproduce by sending up wands of flower-like structures that are pollinated by the wind.
* require little effort to maintain
  - sunlight to grow, but sediment in the runoff clouds the water
  - the most amounts of water and maintenance
* respond and start to grow based upon temperature.
* return first, then the shrubs and, finally, the trees.
* start to grow earlier than most perennials and spread quickly in early spring
  - grow, adding a touch of green to an otherwise brown vista
* sustain the abundant life of the savanna.
* take over and dominate the landscape for a number of years and then are succeeded by shrubs.
* tend to contain large amounts of opal phytoliths, which are like sharp glass needles
  - make best use of any available moisture
* thrive in the Kalahari during the summer rainy season.
* trap the drifting grains of sand.
* use large amounts of nitrogen and potash and leaves smaller amounts available for the trees
  - stolons and rhizomes to reach out and establish new grass culms
  - the wind to pollinate their flowers
* usually go into a semi-dormant state and are vulnerable to disturbance
  - produce pollen during the late spring and summer
* vary greatly in their tolerance to shade.
* vary in growth habit as well as temperature requirements
  - the amount of sunlight needed to sustain growth
* work best for farrowing lots because they keep down the mud.