What Are Grasses? Understanding the Plant Characteristics of Grasses in One Article

Grass is a common type of plant in daily life, found almost everywhere. Some are widely planted for landscaping, while others are disliked as weeds. So what are grasses?

1. What are grasses?

Grass generally refers to herbaceous plants, a general term for a category of plants. People usually call herbaceous plants grass. There are annual, biennial and perennial types, but some plants are exceptions. For example, bamboo belongs to the herbaceous plants, but because its appearance resembles a tree, many people mistake it for a tree.

2. What types of grass are there?

1. Annual herbaceous plants

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

2. Biennial herbaceous plants

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

3. Perennial herbaceous plants

Perennial herbaceous plants (perennial herb) have a relatively long lifespan, generally more than two years, such as chrysanthemum, orchid, lotus, water lily, clivia, etc. The roots of perennial herbaceous plants are generally relatively thick and strong, and some also have organs such as tuberous roots, tubers, corms and bulbs. In winter, the aboveground parts still rest quietly, and when the climate warms in the second 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 the number of branches on the underground part and the size, length and thickness of the stems or roots.

Perennial herbaceous plants can live for more than two years. Some plants have perennial underground parts, such as modified organs like perennial roots or rhizomes, bulbs and tuberous roots, while the aboveground parts die every year, and in the following spring new shoots grow again from the underground parts, flower and bear fruit, such as lotus root, onion, taro, sweet potato, dahlia, etc.; in addition, some plants have both aboveground and underground parts that are perennial, and after flowering and fruiting, the aboveground parts still do not wither and can bear fruit many times, such as Chinese evergreen and dwarf lilyturf, etc.

Grass refers to herbaceous plants, a general term for a category of plants, including annual, biennial and perennial types, and can be seen everywhere in daily life.