Grass

As grass monocotyledonous herbaceous plants are denoted by inconspicuous flowers and long, narrow leaves. On the one hand is a grass a single such plant or a non-specific category of biological classification of such plants. On the other hand, the flat grass vegetation on the ground (as meadow or lawn ) or the whole grass -like plants, which are eaten by animals or harvested by the farmer when mowing (see also grassland).

Grass habitat of many animals, especially ruminants and equines. A closed plant cover on the soil reduces the areal erosion ( denudation ) to a large extent, the soil is less worn, it also get less nutrients in the water.

Botanically include grasses to the order of Süßgrasartigen; the two main groups are grasses and Sedges. Grasses appeared for the first time in the Cretaceous Period, whereupon the erosion behavior of the mainland affected greatly changed.

Word origin

The German word grass is probably due to a very old Indo- syllable * ghr whose meaning "grow" today still in English grow again finds. See also Latin and ancient Greek gramen grástis ( forage grasses ) and the name of the color green, which is probably due to the fact.

Biology

Botanically all belong in the German than grass designated plants (with the exception of sea grass family) to the order of Süßgrasartigen ( Poales ), specifically on the following groups:

  • Grasses ( Poaceae ) are a common in many species and genera in the world family of monocots with a structured node by Halm, long, narrow and special trained as ears or panicles inflorescences with inconspicuous flowers. The bamboo species belonging to this family are called grasses, although they have a different growth form.
  • Sedges are also often referred to simply as grasses. Their stalks are not broken down by nodes. As Sedges are called plant species from two families: Sedges ( Cyperaceae )
  • Rushes ( Juncaceae ), eg the Luzulo

Use

Grasses are among the oldest crops. All cereals (eg wheat, oats, millet, maize and rice) are grasses. As a staple food, and indirectly as animal feed, the grains of cereals today are the nutritional foundation of humanity.

On permanent pasture grass has grown on fields or drawn grass ( grass field ) is mainly used in raw, ensiled ( grass silage, haylage ) or dried (hay) form as animal feed. Hay can also be used as animal bedding. Grass silage is also used as a substrate in the production of biogas.

Traditionally, grass is used as a material for roof cover, which can also take the form of a green roof.

"Grass" as a metaphor

Some phrases, use the "grass" as a metaphor:

  • The Grass Grow watch for such as " boredom "
  • Bite the dust for "die"
  • Grown up grass above is for " until it's long forgotten "
  • Since no grass for growing, " because everything is completely destroyed "
  • Can hear the grass grow people who think they can see the smallest or even to merely imaginary signs of how the situation will develop. The phrase goes back to the poetry of the Edda, in which translation it is said of one of the twelve guardian of the gods, that this was an unusually strong sense of focus and the grass in the ground and hear the wool grow on the sheep.

Grass in art

Grass has also in the visual arts attained a meaning. Thus the artist Hermann Bigelmayr has the artwork itself righting Three blades placed under the National Garden Show 2005 in Munich with blood Castle. Since the 1970s, the Swiss artist Bruno Gasser with the topic grass. Claude Simon in 1958 published the novel " The Grass ".

Film

Restionaceae Planet Earth (TV series)
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