Growth and Development
Grass blades grow at the base of the blade and not from elongated stem tips. This low growth point evolved in response to grazing animals and allows grasses to be grazed or mown regularly without severe damage to the plant.
Three general classifications of growth habit present in grasses: bunch-type (also called caespitose), stoloniferous, and rhizomatous.
The success of the grasses lies in part in their morphology and growth processes, and in part in their physiological diversity. Most of the grasses divide into two physiological groups, using the C3 and C4 photosynthetic pathways for carbon fixation. The C4 grasses have a photosynthetic pathway linked to specialized Kranz leaf anatomy that particularly adapts them to hot climates and atmospheres low in carbon dioxide.
The C3 grasses are referred to as "cool-season" grasses, while the C4 plants are considered "warm-season" grasses; they may be either annual or perennial.
- Annual cool-season - wheat, rye, annual bluegrass (annual meadowgrass, Poa annua), and oat
- Perennial cool-season - orchardgrass (cocksfoot, Dactylis glomerata), fescue (Festuca spp.), Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)
- Annual warm-season - corn, sudangrass, and pearl millet
- Perennial warm-season - big bluestem, Indiangrass, Bermudagrass and switchgrass.
Read more about this topic: Poaceae
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