Grass Family (Poaceae or Graminae)

General Information •Part of the Liliopsida Class•Flowering monocot•4th largest plant family•600-700 genus’s•9000-10000 species•Poaceae are ofter called the “true grasses”•Examples include: wheat, rice, corn, barley, oats, sugar, sorghum, bamboo, and millet•Food cereals-rice, wheat, maize (provide half of calories eaten by humans)•Grows on all continents•Grasslands can be found in deserts, freshwater, marine habitats, highest elevations, forests, and tundra’s. •20% of world is dominated by grasslands•The most important plant families in the human economy because 50% of humanities calories come from this family, and as well used for lawns, and industry, provides forage for mammals •The fruit of the Grass Family is called caryopsis•Evolved 30-40 million years ago

Physical aspects:•Small, reduced flowers, linear sheathing leaves, round stems that are hollow at the internodes, leaves are arranged in 2 rows.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poaceae, /hcs.osu.edu/hcs300/poa.htm /hcs.osu.edu/hcs300/poa.htm