Poaceae

  • Family

    Poaceae (Magnoliophyta)

  • Scientific Name

    Poaceae

  • Common Names

    Grass Family

  • Description

    Description (from PLANTAE): Annual or perennial herbs, rarely woody

    Taxonomic notes (from PLANTAE): Living members of the Poaceae are phylogenitacally isolated among the superorder Poanae (sensu Tahktajan, 1997). There is no direct line, fossil or extant, linking them to any other taxon-- not for lack of data or effort on the part of grass taxonomists .

    Distribution (from PLANTAE): Cosmopolitan

    Economic uses (from PLANTAE): The Poaceae is unrivaled in economic importance.

    Chemistry notes (from PLANTAE): Being wind pollinated, there is little pressure for the development of scents or pigments. Some grasses, such as Sorghum can develop dangerous levels of hydrocyanic acid through the breakdown of gucosides.

  • Floras and Monographs

    Poaceae: [Book] Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

    Poaceae: [Book] Britton, Nathaniel L. & Millspaugh, Charles F. 1920. The Bahama Flora.