Grasses are everywhere. In fact, they make up more than 26% of all life on planet Earth. They’re pretty incredible, too.
They can be as short as the blades in your yard or as tall as a 10-story building, like bamboo. They have flowers and hold the ground in place, and they can grow on every continent in the world — including Antarctica. You even eat grasses almost every day. Discover a little more about grass life and some of the grasses that have their roots in Will County.
What makes a grass a grass?
Grasses have stems called culms that are round and hollow. Culms are blocked at places called nodes. Nodes are small bumps or swellings where new leaves emerge from a plant. The part of the leaf that wraps around the node is called the sheath. The rest of the leaf is called a blade. Grass leaves are long and narrow.
Did you have any idea that grasses have flowers? Grass flowers aren’t showy like a sunflower. They might not even look like what you think flowers should look like. Grass flowers grow in a structure called a spikelet or an inflorescence. These flowers are pollinated by the wind. After pollination, seeds form. Seeds are dispersed by wind, rain or even by animals.
How do grasses grow?
Blades grow from the nodes and not from the tips of the leaf. It’s like how your hair grows from the roots at your head and not from the ends. You can get a trim and not hurt your hair. You can also mow your lawn and deer can munch away on the tops of grasses. There’s no damage – it just got a haircut.
Words to know
Erosion: The process by which earthen materials are worn away.
Evaporation: The process by which water transitions from a liquid state to a gaseous state.
Slough: To shed or remove.
Grasses spread through runners, which are underground stems. From the runners, new roots grow down and new stems grow up. This network of roots and stems reach in all directions. This holds the soil in place. It also slows evaporation and slows runoff water and soil when it rains. Grasses stop erosion.
Why do we love grasses?
Besides the very important job of controlling erosion and keeping the soil in place, we also love grasses for their beauty and for the habitat they provide for wildlife. They are homes and hiding places and grocery stores for animals. Some animals will eat the blades or stems of grasses while others love the seeds.
Humans also love grass seeds! We just call it grain. Plants that we get grain from are called cereal plants. Can you think of any? Wheat, corn, rice, rye, millet, barley and sorghum are cereal plants. Did you know that sugar cane is a grass? Any time you eat bread, sushi or a bowl of cereal or drink a can of pop you are consuming grass!
What grasses grow here?
At one time, most of Will County was part of an incredible ecosystem called the tallgrass prairie. They were called endless seas of grass. Most have been dug up for farm fields, subdivisions and cities. But you can still visit prairies at forest preserves like Prairie Bluff Preserve. Can you identify some of these grasses?
Big bluestem
When people talk about getting lost walking through a prairie, this might be the grass responsible. Big bluestem can grow 4 feet to 8 feet tall. That’s taller than a basketball team! There is a huge root system underground that sloughs off every year. Think of it like how a snake sheds its skin; big bluestem sheds roots. This adds fantastic organic matter to the soil. It makes the soil healthier and slows down erosion. The cluster of flowers at the top looks a little like a turkey foot. That is even this plant’s nickname!
Prairie dropseed
This is a medium-sized grass that grows in bunches or tight, rounded clumps. The flowering stalks can grow to be 3 feet tall. These flowering stalks look wispy. And when the seeds come in by the end of summer, take a big whiff. Do you smell buttered popcorn? Or cilantro? That’s prairie dropseed.
Golden plume
Golden plume, also known as Indian grass, is tall like big bluestem. It grows about 5 feet to 7 feet tall. Also like big bluestem, it is one of the main grasses you will find in tallgrass prairies. Golden plume is wonderful food for birds. Look for the golden colors of the plume or feather-like flowers/seedheads at the top of the grass.
With more than 1,000 grasses native to North America, you’re probably not going to learn them all. Just start with a couple. Can you identify big bluestem, prairie dropseed and golden plume? That’s a great start. Can you find grass nodes? The blade and the sheath of a grass leaf? Go out to the preserves and practice!
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