Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in 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 ...
. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a
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'', ...
or
lawn
A lawn () is an area of soil-covered land planted with Poaceae, grasses and other durable plants such as clover lawn, clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic an ...
, in
meadow
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...
s,
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 ...
s, and prairies. As
perennial
In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
plants, most species live more than one season. Tussock grasses are often found as
forage
Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
in
pasture
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing.
Types of pasture
Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...
s and
ornamental grass
Ornamental grasses are grasses grown as ornamental plants. Ornamental grasses are popular in many colder hardiness zones for their resilience to cold temperatures and aesthetic value throughout fall and winter seasons.
Classifications
Along ...
es in gardens.
Many species have long roots that may reach or more into the soil, which can aid slope stabilization,
erosion control
Erosion control is the practice of preventing or controlling wind or water erosion in agriculture, land development, coast, coastal areas, Bank (geography), river banks and construction. Effective erosion controls handle surface runoff and are ...
, and soil porosity for precipitation absorption. Also, their roots can reach moisture more deeply than other grasses and annual plants during seasonal or climatic droughts. The plants provide habitat and food for insects (including
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
), birds, small animals and larger
herbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...
s, and support beneficial soil
mycorrhiza
A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...
. The leaves supply material, such as for
basket weaving
Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...
, for
indigenous peoples
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
and
contemporary art
Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
ists.
Tussock and bunch grasses occur in almost any habitat where other grasses are found, including:
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 such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...
,
savannas
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient li ...
and
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
s,
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
and
estuaries
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
,
riparian zone
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripari ...
s,
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...
s and
scrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...
s,
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
s and
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
s,
montane
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...
tundra
In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...
and
dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
s, and
desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
s.
Fire resistance
In western North American
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
s, bunch grasses tend to smolder and not ignite into flames, unlike
invasive species
An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
of annual grasses that contribute to a fire's spreading.
Ancistrachne
''Ancistrachne'' is a genus of plants in the grass family.
; SpeciesBlake, Stanley Thatcher 1941. Papers from the Department of Biology, University of Queensland Papers 1(19): 4-6
* ''Ancistrachne ancylotricha'' (Quisumb. & Merr.) S.T.Blake - ...
'' (tropical climates)
*''
Andropogon
''Andropogon'' (common names: beard grass, bluestem grass, broomsedge) is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to much of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as Southern Europe and various oceanic islands.
Over 100 speci ...
'' (tropical climates)
*''
Aristida
''Aristida'' is a very nearly Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family. ''Aristida'' is distinguished by having three Awn (Botany), awns (bristles) on each lemma (botany), lemma of each floret. The gen ...
'' (tropical climates)
*''
Arundinella
''Arundinella'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, common in many tropical and subtropical regions.Phipps, J. B. 1967. Studies in the Arundinelleae (Gramineae). V. The series of the genus ''Arundinella''. Canadian Journal of Bot ...
'' (tropical climates)
*''
Astrebla
''Astrebla'' is a small genus of xerophytic (adapted to survive in an environment with little liquid water) grasses found only in Australia. They are the dominant grass across much of the continent. They are commonly known as Mitchell grass aft ...
'' (tropical climates)
*''
Bothriochloa
''Bothriochloa'' is a common and widespread genus of plants in the grass family native to many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands. They are often called beardgrass, bluegrass or bluestem. Some species are invasive in areas wh ...
'' (tropical climates)
*''
Cenchrus
''Cenchrus'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. Its species are native to many countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.
Comm ...
Cymbopogon
''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the Poaceae, grass famil ...
Digitaria
''Digitaria'' is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and warm temperate regions but can occur in tropical, subtropical, and cooler temperate regions as well. Common names include crabgrass, finger-grass, and fonio. They ar ...
Eragrostis
''Eragrostis'' is a large and widespread genus of plants in the Poaceae, grass family, found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands.
''Eragrostis'' is commonly known as lovegrass or canegrass. The name of the genus is de ...
Brachypodium
''Brachypodium'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, widespread across much of Africa, Eurasia, and Latin America. The genus is classified in its own tribe Brachypodieae.
Flimsy upright stems form tussocks. Flowers appear in compact spi ...
'' (temperate climates)
*''
Calamagrostis
''Calamagrostis'' (reed grass or smallweed) is a genus of flowering plants in the grass family Poaceae, with about 260 species that occur mainly in temperate regions of the globe. Towards equatorial latitudes, species of ''Calamagrostis'' general ...
Festuca
''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on ...
Muhlenbergia
''Muhlenbergia'' is a genus of plants in the grass family.
The genus is named in honor of the German-American amateur botanist Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753-1815). Many of the species are known by the common name muhly.
The greatest ...
'' (temperate climates)
*''
Nassella
''Nassella'', or needlegrass, is a New World genus of over 100 perennial bunchgrasses found from North America through South America. The Latin word ''nassa'' refers to "a basket with a narrow neck". It is usually considered segregate from the ge ...
Oryza
''Oryza'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It includes the major food crop rice (species '' Oryza sativa'' and '' Oryza glaberrima''). Members of the genus grow as tall, wetland grasses, growing to tall; the genus includes both annua ...
Panicum
''Panicum'' (panicgrass) is a large genus of about 250 species of Poaceae, grasses native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone. They are often large, Annual plant, annual or P ...
Paspalidium
''Paspalidium'' (watercrown grass) is a formerly accepted genus of tropical and subtropical plants in the Poaceae, grass family. , Plants of the World Online treated it as a synonym of ''Setaria''.
The genus included about 40 species of annuals ...
Sorghum
''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...
'' (tropical climates)
*''
Sporobolus
''Sporobolus'' is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name ''Sporobolus'' means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word (), meaning "seed", and the root of () "to throw", referring to the dispersion of ...
Stipa
''Stipa'' is a genus of 141 species of large Perennial plant, perennial hermaphrodite, hermaphroditic grasses collectively known as feather grass, needle grass, and spear grass. They are placed in the subfamily Pooideae and the tribe Stipeae, w ...
Triraphis
''Triraphis'' is a genus of African, Arabian, Australian, and Brazilian plants in the grass family. Needlegrass is a common name for plants in this genus.
; Species
* '' Triraphis andropogonoides'' (Steud.) E.Phillips, - South Africa, Botswana, ...
Ancistrachne maidenii
''Simonachne maidenii'' is a species of grass (in the family Poaceae) endemic to New South Wales. It is the sole species in genus ''Simonachne''.
It is a scrambling perennial grass with slender, rigid horizontal stems and branches which ascend ...
''
*''
Ancistrachne uncinulata
''Ancistrachne uncinulata'', the hooked-hairy panic grass, is a grass (Poaceae family), and was first described in 1810 as ''Panicum uncinulatum'' by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773), Robert Brown, and then in 1941, was assigned to the genus, ...
''
*''
Ancistrachne uncinulata
''Ancistrachne uncinulata'', the hooked-hairy panic grass, is a grass (Poaceae family), and was first described in 1810 as ''Panicum uncinulatum'' by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773), Robert Brown, and then in 1941, was assigned to the genus, ...
Arundinella nepalensis
''Arundinella'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, common in many tropical and subtropical regions.Phipps, J. B. 1967. Studies in the Arundinelleae (Gramineae). V. The series of the genus ''Arundinella''. Canadian Journal of Bot ...
Austrostipa stipoides
''Austrostipa stipoides'', commonly known as prickly spear-grass or coast spear-grass, is a kind of tussock grass native to the coasts of south-eastern Australia and of New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwest ...
Eremochloa bimaculata
''Eremochloa'' is a genus of Asian and Australian plants in the grass family.
; SpeciesPohl, R. W. 1994. 171. ''Eremochloa'' Buse. 6: 397. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez & A.O. Chater (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana. Universidad Nacional Autónoma ...
Eulalia aurea
''Eulalia aurea'' is a grass (in the Poaceae family). It was first described as ''Andropogon aureum'' in 1804 by Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent, Bory de Saint-VincentBory de Saint-Vincent, J.B.G.M. (1804), Voyage dans les quatre Principales ...
Heteropogon contortus
''Heteropogon contortus'' is a tropical, perennial tussock grass with a native distribution encompassing Southern Africa, southern Asia, Northern Australia, Oceania, and southwestern North America. The species has also become a naturalised weed ...
Imperata cylindrica
''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of Perennial plant, perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and Southern Europe. It has al ...
Phragmites australis
''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide.
Description
''Phragmites australis' ...
Schizachyrium fragile
''Schizachyrium'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek words (), meaning "to split," and (), meaning "chaff." It refers to either the glume or the toothed lemmas.
In the United States ...
Aristida purpurea
''Aristida purpurea'' is a species of grass native to North America which is known by the common name purple three-awn.
Distribution
This grass is fairly widespread and can be found across the western two thirds of the United States, much of ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
Eriophorum vaginatum
''Eriophorum vaginatum'', the hare's-tail cottongrass, tussock cottongrass, or sheathed cottonsedge, is a species of perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is native to bogs and other acidic wetlands throughout t ...
Leymus condensatus
''Leymus condensatus'', the giant wildrye, is a wild rye grass native to eastern Oregon, California and northern Mexico.
Description
''Leymus condensatus'' also commonly referred to as ''Canyon Prince'' is a type of wild rye that is part of t ...
Muhlenbergia rigens
''Muhlenbergia rigens'', commonly known as deergrass, is a warm season perennial bunchgrass. It is found in sandy or well-drained soils below in elevation in the Southwestern United States and parts of Mexico.
Description
Deergrass is character ...
Sporobolus virginicus
''Sporobolus virginicus'', known by numerous common names including seashore dropseed, marine couch, sand couch, salt couch grass, saltwater couch, coastal rat-tail grass, and nioaka, is a species of Poaceae, grass with a wide distribution.
Desc ...
weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...
synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
Heteropogon contortus
''Heteropogon contortus'' is a tropical, perennial tussock grass with a native distribution encompassing Southern Africa, southern Asia, Northern Australia, Oceania, and southwestern North America. The species has also become a naturalised weed ...
Molinia caerulea
''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid s ...
'' – purple moor grass (to west Asia and north Africa)
See also
*
List of Poaceae genera
Poaceae, also known as the true grasses, is the fourth largest plant family in the world with around 12,000 species and roughly 800 genera. They contain, among others, the cereal crop species and other plants of economic importance, such as the b ...