The Best Way to Identify Grass Species:
By looking at the grass at close quarters and using a guide to the different characteristics of grass may help you to identify it. If you are trying to establish a type of grass area – you may need to know which grass species would be best suited for the intended use or effect. For example if you are creating a football pitch, a golf green or an ornamental lawn – different species of grass will give the best effect. If you live in a coastal area or an area of particular soil types, or if you are grassing a steep slope; then sowing the grass species that are best suited is very important to ensure that the grass establishes and grows well.
The Best Way to Choose the Right Grass Seed Mix:
At Phoenix Amenity Supplies Ltd we have spent many years gathering together the right specialist information to help you to make the right choices. Our grass seed mixtures have been specially formulated by an ecologist to give the best results.
The Different Characteristics of the Grass Plant:
You can identify grass species by the different characteristics – a guide to the different characteristics of each grass and ways to identify each species are featured below. You need to take note of the following for identification purposes:
- Leaf Sheath: Part of the plant where the leaf is attached around the stem
- Leaf or Leaf Blade: Part of the grass plant that stands out from the stem
- Ligule: The section around the shoot where it comes out of the leaf sheath
- Auricles: Some grass plants have a few outgrowths at the leaf base referred to as auricles- more noticeable in tall fescues
- Rolled & Folded Shoots: The youngest leaf may be rolled when it appears
- Runners & Tuft Formers: Various grass species form runners. Sub-terranean runners are to as rhizomes or underground stems. Runners on the surface are called stolon
- Ribs & Leaf Constriction: Ribs are the ridges that show lengthwise on the leaves of some grass species. Can be weakly, moderately or strongly ribbed as is referred to. Constricted leaves are noticeable by the appearance of a constriction at about halfway as in crested dog’s tail
- Nodes: These are the thicker sections in a stem. Some grasses form root nodules
- Inflorescence: This is a classification distinction between spike grasses, raceme grasses and panicle grasses. Spike grasses have a spike e.g. perennial ryegrass. The spike is directly attached to the axis with hardly any stalk. Raceme grasses have a spike like panicle. The spike have short branched stalks which are revealed when you fray them or pull them a part – e.g. Meadow foxtail. Panicle grasses form a panicle when they flower – e.g. see smooth stalked meadow grass. panicle grasses have spikelet’s with short and longer stalks
Grasses Identification Guide
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