botany Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "bot ...

and ecology, graminoid refers to a herbaceous plant with a grass-like morphology, i.e. elongated culms with long, blade-like leaves. They are contrasted to

forbs A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

, herbaceous plants without grass-like features. The plants most often referred to include the families

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

(grasses in the strict sense),

Cyperaceae The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus '' Carex'' ...

(sedges), and Juncaceae (rushes). These are not closely related but belong to different clades in the order Poales. The grasses (Poaceae) are by far the largest family with some 12,000 species. Besides their similar morphology, graminoids share the widespread occurrence and often dominance in open habitats such as

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natural ...

or marshes. They can however also be found in the understory of forests. Sedges and rushes tend to prefer wetter habitats than grasses. File:Pitrus (Juncus effusus) 05.JPG, alt=Common rush in shallow water, Common rush ('' Juncus effusus''), Juncaceae File:Cyperus capitatus 01.jpg, alt=Nutsedge on dune, Nutsedge ('' Cyperus capitatus''), Cyperaceae File:Festuca cinerea a1.jpg, alt=Fescue grass tuft, '' Festuca cinerea'', Poaceae

References

{{None Plant morphology Plants by habit Plant life-forms

See also

References