Agrostology (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, ''agrōstis'', "type of grass"; and , ''

-logia ''-logy'' is a suffix in the English language, used with words originally adapted from Ancient Greek ending in ('). The earliest English examples were anglicizations of the French '' -logie'', which was in turn inherited from the Latin '' -lo ...

''), sometimes graminology, is the scientific study of the

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

es (the family

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

, or Gramineae). The grasslike species of the sedge family (

Cyperaceae The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

), the rush family (

Juncaceae Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of 8 genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous monocotyledonous plants that may superficially resemble grasses and ...

), and the bulrush or cattail family (

Typha ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrushStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ' ...

ceae) are often included with the true grasses in the category of

graminoid In botany and ecology, a graminoid refers to a herbaceous plant with a grass-like morphology, i.e., elongated culms with long, blade-like leaves. They are contrasted with forbs, herbaceous plants without grass-like features. The plants most ...

, although strictly speaking these are not included within the study of agrostology. In contrast to the word graminoid, the words gramineous and graminaceous are normally used to mean "of, or relating to, the true grasses (

)". Agrostology has importance in the maintenance of wild and grazed

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

(crop plants such as

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

, and

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

are grasses, and many types of animal

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food ...

are grasses), urban and environmental

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

, turfgrass management and

sod Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

production,

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

, and conservation.

Famous Agrostologists

* Botanists that made important contributions to agrostology include: * Norman Loftus Bor, In 1962 the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

awarded him their gold medal, the highest recognition a botanist can receive * Jean Bosser, the plant Euphorbia bosseri was named after her *

Aimée Antoinette Camus Aimée Antoinette Camus (1 May 1879 – 17 April 1965) was a French botanist. She was best known for her study of orchids and oaks. Camus also has the legacy of authoring the second highest number of land plant species among female scientist ...

* Mary Agnes Chase, named 667 species *

William Derek Clayton William Derek Clayton (24 July 1926 – 8 September 2023), commonly known as Derek Clayton, was a British botanist who worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, on grasses (Poaceae). Early life William Derek Clayton was born in Croydon, Surre ...

, specialized in

Hyparrhenia ''Hyparrhenia'' is a genus of grasses. Many species are known commonly as thatching grass. They are mostly native to tropical Africa; some can be found in warmer areas in temperate Eurasia, Australia, and Latin America. These are annual and per ...

* Thomas Arthur Cope *

Eduard Hackel Eduard Hackel (17 March 1850 in Haida, Bohemia – 2 February 1926 in Attersee, Upper Austria) was an Austrian botanist. His father was a veterinarian in Haida (now Nový Bor) in Bohemia. He was married and had one son. Hackel studied at the P ...

, The genus ''

Hackelochloa ''Hackelochloa'' is a genus of Asian and African plants in the grass family. The genus was named after Eduard Hackel, an Austrian botanist, by Otto Kuntze, in 1891. Species *'' Hackelochloa granularis'' ( L.) Kuntze - sub-Saharan Africa; so ...

'' (Poaceae) is named for him. * A. S. Hitchcock, edited and distributed two

exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...

e, namely ''Plants of Kansas'' and ''American grasses'' *

Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For 20 years he served as director of the Ro ...

, There are number (at least 30) of plants with specific name hookeri and hookeriana Many of them are named in honor of Joseph Dalton Hooker. Including Banksia hookeriana, Grevillea hookeriana, Iris hookeriana, Polygonatum hookeri, Tainia hookeriana an orchid species in

Southern Taiwan The regions of Taiwan are based on historical administrative divisions. However, most of the definitions are not precise. Division into two regions * Eastern and Western Taiwan: the Central Mountain Range separates Taiwan into east and west. :* ' ...

. and Sarcococca hookeriana, others include land snail Notodiscus hookeri and Phocarctos hookeri *

Charles Edward Hubbard Charles Edward Hubbard (23 May 19008 May 1980) was a British botanist, specialising in agrostology – the study of grasses. He was considered "the world authority on the classification and recognition of grasses" in his time. He is indicated ...

, was considered "the world authority on the classification and recognition of grasses" in his time. * Robert B. Shaw * Otto Stapf, wrote on the Graminae in William Turner Thiselton Dyer's edition of the ''Flora capensis'' (1898–1900) and published '' Stapfiella'', which is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s from Tropical Africa belonging to the family Passifloraceae and named in his honour. *

Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel (30 May 1783 – 12 May 1856) was a German physician and an authority on grasses. Biography Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel was born at Esslingen am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg. He was educated at the University of Tübing ...

* George Vasey, granted an honorary M.A. in 1864 from

Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856. History The in ...

. In 1869 he was made a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, and in 1892, of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

; that same year he was representative to the 1892

International Botanical Congress International Botanical Congress (IBC) is an international meeting of Botany, botanists in all scientific fields, authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) and held every six years, with the locatio ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, where he was a vice-president. * Jan-Frits Veldkar

References

Grasses Agrostology 01 {{Botany-stub