botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

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 ...

, a graminoid refers to a

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

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 often referred to include the families

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 ...

(grasses in the strict sense),

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 ...

(sedges), and Juncaceae (rushes). These are not closely related but belong to different

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

s in the order Poales. The grasses (Poaceae) are by far the largest family, with some 12,000 species.

Ecology

Besides their similar morphology, graminoids share a 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 such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...

or marshes. They can, however, also be found in the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...

of forests. Sedges and rushes tend to prefer wetter habitats than grasses.

Gallery

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

Etymology

The word ''graminoid'' is derived from Latin '

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 ...

;

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

', with the suffix denoting '-like; resembling, characteristic of'.

References

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

Ecology

Gallery

Etymology

See also

References