Cut grass

Grass is the common word that generally describes monocotyledonous green plants. Monocotyledons or monocots are one of two major groups of Flowering plants (angiosperms that are traditionally recognised the other being Dicotyledons Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The family Gramineae (Poaceae) are the "true grasses" and include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns (turf). Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the flowering plants. Pasture is land with Herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of Ungulate Livestock as part of a Farm or Ranch. A lawn is an area of recreational or amenity land planted with grass, and sometimes Clover and other plants which are maintained at a low even height They include some more specialised crops such as lemongrass, as well as many ornamental plants. Cymbopogon is a genus of about 55 species of grasses, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World and Oceania. Ornamental grasses are Grasses grown as Ornamental plants They have become increasingly popular in Gardens in recent years They also include plants often not recognized to be grasses, such as bamboos or some species of weeds called crab grass. Bamboo is a group of Woody perennial Evergreen Plants in the True grass family Poaceae, subfamily WEED (1390 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Spanish format Digitaria is a Genus of about 300 species of Grass (family Poaceae) native to tropical and warm temperate regions

Use of the term

The term grass is often used to describe related plants in the rush (Juncaceae) and sedge (Cyperaceae) families, that somewhat resemble grass. The Juncaceae, or the Rush Family, is a rather small monocot Flowering plant family The family Cyperaceae, or the sedges, is a taxon of monocot Flowering plants that superficially resemble grasses or rushes It may also be used to describe completely unrelated plants, sometimes of similar appearances to grass, with leaves rising vertically from the ground, and sometimes of dissimilar appearance. The term came about in the early 15th century, from the Old English græs, derived from the same root as "grow". A single piece of grass is called a blade.

Importance

Houses with grass roofs in Iceland. House generally refers to a Shelter or Building that is a Dwelling or place for Habitation by Human beings. A green roof is a Roof of a Building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and soil or a growing medium planted over a waterproofing membrane Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland (

Grass-like plants are among the most versatile life forms. Plants having grass-like structures have existed for millions of years, providing fodder for Cretaceous dinosaurs, whose fossilized dung (coprolite) contains phytoliths of a variety of grasses that include the ancestors of rice and bamboo. The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of A Coprolite is Fossilized animal dung Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in A phytolith ("plant stone" is a rigid microscopic body that occurs in many Plants The most common type of phytolith is the Silicon phytolith also called Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many Bamboo is a group of Woody perennial Evergreen Plants in the True grass family Poaceae, subfamily ^[1] Grasses have adapted to conditions in lush rain forests, dry deserts, and cold mountain steppes, and are now the most widespread plant type. Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. In physical Geography, a steppe ( German, from степь - "a flat and arid land" степ - /stɛp/ тал - tal дала - /dɑlɑ/ pronounced

Plants of this type were always important to humans. Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus They were cultivated as food for domesticated animals for up to 10,000 years. This is a list of animals that have been domesticated by Humans. (See grass fed beef. Different cattle feeding production systems have separate advantages and disadvantages ) They have been used for paper-making since at least 2400 BC. Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging Now they provide the majority of food crops, and have many other uses, such as feeding animals, and for lawns. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture A lawn is an area of recreational or amenity land planted with grass, and sometimes Clover and other plants which are maintained at a low even height There are many minor uses, and grasses are familiar to most human cultures.

In some places, particularly in suburban areas in the United States and Canada, the maintenance of a grass lawn is a sign of a homeowner's responsibility to the overall appearance of their neighborhood. South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page A lawn is an area of recreational or amenity land planted with grass, and sometimes Clover and other plants which are maintained at a low even height Many municipalities and homeowner's associations have rules about this. Some require lawns to be maintained to certain specifications, sanctioning those who allow the grass to grow too long. In communities with drought problems, watering of lawns may be restricted to certain times of day or days of the week. A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply

In sports

The yellow area is the pitch currently in use. Parallel to it are other pitches in various states of preparation which could be used in other matches.

Grass is also used in several contexts in sports, most notably with sports played on fields such as football, cricket, baseball, and rugby. Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Rugby football (usually just " rugby " may refer to a number of sports through history descended from a common form of Football developed at Rugby School In some sports facilities, including indoor domes and places where maintenance of a grass field would be difficult, grass may be replaced with artificial turf, a synthetic grass-like substitute. Artificial turf, or synthetic turf, is a man-made surface manufactured from synthetic materials made to look like natural Grass. Sports such as cricket, golf and tennis are particularly dependent on the quality of the grass on which the sport is played. Tennis is a sport played between two players ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles)

A cricket pitch often starts with a thin cover of green blades, but over the course of a five-day match tends to dry out and harden. Even in one-day matches cricket pitches are often nearly bare earth covered only by a layer of dry yellow stalks. A green or moist pitch favours the bowler, as it varies the bounce of the ball and increases its movement. A hard, dry pitch gives a more predictable, higher bounce which favours the batsman. The nature of the outfield is also important, as grass may slow down a ball, causing it to stop before reaching a boundary or allowing a fielder more time to gather the ball. Laws 10 and 11 of cricket detail maintenance and protection of the pitch. Unlike test cricket and One Day International, indoor cricket is played on an artificial surface. Test cricket is the longest form of the Sport of Cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. Indoor cricket is a variant of Cricket. The game is most often played between two teams each consisting of eight players in matches featuring two sixteen 8 ball over innings

In tennis, grass is grown on very hard-packed soil, and bounces may vary depending on the grass's health, how recently it has been mowed, and the wear and tear of recent play. The most famous grass tennis court in the world is Centre Court at Wimbledon. The Championships Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest Tennis tournament in the world and is widely considered as the most prestigious But tennis is usually played on clay courts, and only a few regular tennis tournaments are played on grass. Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and The surface is softer than hard courts, so the ball bounces lower, and players must reach the ball faster. Grass courts are now rare as they must be watered and mowed often, and take longer to dry after rain than hard courts.

Golf, on the other hand, is usually played on grass, and is dependent on the maintenance of a very large area of well-cut grass. Grass on golf courses is kept in three distinct conditions: that of the rough, the fairway, and the putting green. Grass on the fairway is short and even, allowing the player to cleanly strike the ball. Playing from the rough is a disadvantage because the grass is generally much longer, which may affect the flight of the ball. Grass on the putting green is the shortest and most even, ideally allowing the ball to slide smoothly over the surface. An entire industry revolves around the development and marketing of grasses for golf courses.

In fiction

Grass plays a central role in two important science fiction catastrophe novels from the 1940s and 1950s, Ward Moore's Greener Than You Think, in which the world is slowly taken over by unstoppable Bermuda Grass, John Christopher's The Death of Grass, in which a plague that kills off all forms of grass threatens the survival of the human species. Ward Moore (b August 10 1903, Madison New Jersey - d January 28 1978) was the working name of American author Joseph Ward Not to be confused with the vertebrate clade " Cynodont " Cynodon ( Greek "Dog-tooth" is a genus of nine species of Samuel Youd (born) is a British Science fiction Author. He has written under the Pseudonyms John Christopher, Stanley Winchester The Death Of Grass (aka No Blade Of Grass) is a 1956 Post-apocalyptic science fiction novel written by the British author Samuel Youd

Gallery

A sea of neatly cut grass surrounds the bunkers at Filton Golf Club, Bristol. Filton is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Bristol, about 4 Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London

Tall grass growing wild at Lyme Park

In some places, even small areas of grass are valuable. Lyme Park is an estate and Park near Disley, in the county of Cheshire, England. These steps were built to access grass for animal feed. Swiss-Italian region near Bignasco.

Footnotes

References

• Chapman, G. P. and W. E. Peat. 1992. An Introduction to the Grasses. CAB Internat. , Oxon, UK.
• Cheplick, G. P. 1998. Population Biology of Grasses. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP is a Publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534
• Milne, L. and M. Milne. 1967. Living Plants of the World. Chaticleer Press, N. Y.
• Soderstrom, T. R. , K. W. Hilu, C. S. Campbell, and M. E. Barkworth, eds. 1987. Grass Systematics and Evolution. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C.
• Went, Frits W. 1963. The Plants. Time-Life Books, N. The Time-Life company was founded by Time Incorporated in 1961 as a book marketing division Y.

External links

• Why is the grass green?