What Is the Difference Between Grass and Trees? An Analysis of the Differences Between Herbaceous and Woody Plants

Grass and trees are two major categories of plants, and they are also green plants we often see. So, do you know what the difference between grass and trees is?

1. What is the difference between grass and trees?

Grass refers to herbaceous plants, whose stems are generally less lignified and which are mostly annual or biennial plants; trees are generally taller than herbaceous plants, with a high degree of stem lignification, and the xylem makes up the vast majority of the stem, making them perennial plants.

2. What are the main types of herbaceous plants?

1. Annual herbs

Annual herbs (annual) are herbaceous plants whose lifespan is only 1 year, from seed germination, growth, flowering, and fruiting to withering and death, that is, plants that can complete their life cycle within one growing season, meaning they flower and fruit and then die in the same year, such as morning glory, cineraria, bottle gourd, and China aster.

2. Biennial herbs

Biennial herbs (biennial) are plants that in the first growing season (autumn) grow only vegetative organs, and in the second growing season (spring) flower, fruit, and then die, such as winter wheat, sugar beet, and broad bean.

3. Perennial herbs

Perennial herbaceous plants (perennial herb) have a relatively long lifespan, generally herbaceous plants that live for more than two years, such as chrysanthemum, orchid, lotus, water lily, and clivia. The roots of perennial herbaceous plants are generally rather thick and strong, and some also grow organs such as tuberous roots, tubers, corms, and bulbs. In winter, the aboveground parts still sleep quietly, and when the climate warms the next year, they sprout and grow again. Growing year after year in this way, the underground roots or stems may gradually become larger and may also branch. This provides us with a basis for identifying their age; we can estimate their age from how much the underground parts have branched and from the size, length, and thickness of the stems or roots.

Perennial herbs can live for more than two years. The underground parts of some plants are perennial, such as organs like perennial roots or rhizomes, bulbs, and tuberous roots, while the aboveground parts die each year, and in the second spring new branches grow again from the underground parts, flower, and set fruit, such as lotus root, onion, taro, sweet potato, and dahlia; in addition, the aboveground and underground parts of some plants are both perennial, and after flowering and fruiting the aboveground parts still do not wither and can fruit multiple times, such as Japanese sacred lily and dwarf lilyturf.

3. What are the main types of trees?

1. Classification by tree growth type:

(1) Arbor category, with a tall tree body (usually 6 m to several tens of m) and an obvious tall main trunk.

(2) Shrub category, with a short tree body (usually below 6 m) and a low main trunk.

(3) Vine category, woody plants that can twine around or climb other objects to grow upward (such as Boston ivy).

(4) Creeping category, with trunks and branches all growing prostrate on the ground (such as creeping juniper).

2. Classification by adaptability to environmental factors:

(1) According to the heat factor, tropical tree species, subtropical tree species, temperate tree species, and cold-temperate and subcold-temperate tree species.

(2) According to the moisture factor, they can be divided into drought-tolerant tree species (which can be graded) and moisture-tolerant tree species (which can be graded).

(3) According to the light factor, heliophilous trees, neutral trees, and sciophilous trees, and each category can also be graded.

(4) According to the air factor, four categories: wind-resistant tree species, smoke-and-toxic-gas-resistant tree species, dust-resistant tree species, and health-care tree species (which can secrete volatile bactericides and aromatic molecules beneficial to humans).

(5) According to the soil factor, acid-loving tree species, alkaline-tolerant tree species, barren-tolerant tree species, and coastal tree species.

3. Classification by ornamental characteristics of trees:

(1) Trees appreciated for tree form (form trees);

(2) Trees appreciated for foliage (foliage trees);

(3) Trees appreciated for flowers (flowering trees);

(4) Trees appreciated for fruit (fruit trees);

(5) Trees appreciated for roots (root trees);

4. Classification by tree use:

(1) Specimen trees (solitary trees, specimen trees, form-appreciation trees);

(2) Shade trees; street trees; protective trees; grove category;

(3) Flowering tree category; vine category; hedge and green sculpture category;

(4) Ground cover plant category; foundation planting category; bonsai category; indoor greening decoration category.