Grasses
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Grasses
Grass is, of course, around us pretty well everywhere. In places (parks and gardens) we actively encourage it and manage it, elsewhere we try to get rid of it! It forms the dominant vegetative species in many of our frequently occurring habitat types. As always, grass is not just grass! There are different species of grass and yet most of us take no interest in trying to distinguish between them but then it can be quite difficult to do so. In this first of two series I will consider some of the more common and distinctive grasses and their features. Grasses have a florescence but not of the type we associate with wild flowers so I have included them under non-flowering plants as that is where I am sure most 'novice' naturalists would look for them.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29Species featured in this book | Scientific Name | Title |
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Annual Meadow-grass | Poa annua | Annual Meadow-grass: American blue-grass |
Smooth Meadow-grass | Poa pratensis | Smooth Meadow-grass: Kentucky blue-grass |
Rough Meadow-grass | Poa trivialis | Rough Meadow-grass: take the rough with the smooth |
Tall Fescue | Festuca arundinacea | Tall Fescue: friends in high places |
Common Bent | Agrostis capillaris | Common Bent: the brown top grass |
Quaking-grass | Briza media | Quaking Grass: purple hearts |
Wood Melick | Melica uniflora | Wood Melick: an ancient woodland indicator |
Common Reed | Phragmites australis | Common Reed: thatching and weaving |
Reed Sweet-grass | Glyceria maxima | Reed Sweet-grass: not the common reed but a common grass |
Wood Millet | Milium effusum | Wood Millet: a process of elimination |
Giant Fescue | Festuca gigantea | Giant Fescue: just shading it |
Hairy-brome | Bromopsis ramosa | Hairy brome: the woodland oats |
Barren Brome | Anisantha sterilis | Barren Brome: sterile oats |
Soft-brome | Bromus hordeaceus | Soft Brome: bull grass |
False Oat-Grass | Arrhenatherum elatius | False Oat-grass: the tall meadow oat |
Wild Oat | Avena fatua | Wild Oat: sewing but not reaping |
Yellow Oat-grass | Trisetum flavescens | Yellow Oat-grass: chalk it up |
Silver Hair-grass | Aira caryophyllea | Silver Hair-grass: hallmark of a fine grass |
Purple Moor Grass | Molinia caerulea | Molinia caerulea: the purple moor grass |
Yorkshire-fog | Holcus lanatus | Yorkshire Fog: the iconic grass species |
Meadow Oat-grass | Helictotrichon pratense | Meadow Oat-grass: staying neutral |
Wood Small-reed | Calamagrostis epigeious | Calamagrostis epigeious: the wood small-reed |
Marram Grass | Ammophila arenaria | Marram Grass: the sands of time |
Timothy | Phleum pratense | Phleum pratense: Timothy grass |
Sweet Vernal-grass | Anthoxanthum odoratum | Sweet Vernal Grass: the vanilla grass |
Meadow Barley | Hordeum secalinum | Meadow Barley: Sir John Barleycorn |
Common Cord-grass | Spartina anglica | Common Cord-grass: clear as mud |
Common Couch Grass | Elymus repens | Elymus repens: the common couch grass |
Tor-grass | Brachypodium rupestre | Brachypodium rupestre: the tor grass |
This book is made up of the segments listed below. Click the segment title for information about specie within that segment.
Segment | Description |
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Grasses |
Grasses are flowering plants but have pannicles rather than the more familiar flower types of other plants. |