Grasses are one of Texas’ most valuable natural resources. Early explorers and naturalists found Texas to be a vast “sea of grass” that stretched from horizon to horizon. Though the landscape itself varies from forests to wetlands, from coastal prairies to mountain slopes, and from shrublands to deserts, grass is the dominant plant type in all landscapes.
While the Sunflower Family has the largest number of species in Texas, the Grass Family (Poaceae) is second, with about 560 species of native and introduced grasses. All grasses are monocotyledons (having one embryonic leaf in the seed), but they are otherwise quite varied. Some are annuals and some perennials. Some are cool-season plants and some are warm-season plants. Some form sod and some grow in bunches. And, of course, they have many different physical characteristics.
Sometimes these characteristics gave rise to the names of grasses, such as tall or short, little or big, hairy, thin, blue or silver. Some native grasses were named after other grasses they resembled, such as seaoats, wildrye, wheatgrass, cane or barley. Some were named for the locale in which they grew, such as sand, alkali, meadow, marsh, inland or upland. Others were named for the part of the country in which they were found, such as northern or southern. Some grasses were named to honor botanists, naturalists or explorers. The name given to a grass often builds a mental vision for us of what the “namer” saw on a specific day in history.
We humans often attach our own names to the things around us in an effort to communicate clearly to others. Thus, many grasses ended up with long lists of common names. Texas panicum, a fairly common warm-season annual, has also been called sourgrass, Texas millet, Colorado grass, hoo-rah grass and Texas signalgrass. Sometimes two different grasses are called by the same common name in different parts of the state. To solve this problem, common names are often standardized to the ones used most often in most geographical areas. But common names are sometimes changed. Sideoats grama, the state grass of Texas, was known as buffalograss in the late 1800s. Today, buffalograss is the common name of a different grass species.
Grasses have great value to the landscape and to people. Native grasses protect the soil from erosion, discourage invasion by undesirable plants, help maintain or rebuild the natural hydrologic and nutrient cycles, and help rainfall penetrate the soil—even the tightest clays. They are also essential to many species of wildlife. Most people know grasses as the plants used to build a beautiful lawn or landscape. Some know that some grass species provide us with food, among them oats, wheat, rice, barley and corn. Others think of grass as the main food source for cattle and other livestock.
Today, we know that grasses are important indicators of environmental health. The types of grasses growing in a particular area, and their condition, tell us whether the land is deteriorating from its natural state or recovering from past disturbances or land use. If you know the names of the plants you see, you can interpret the health of the landscape and determine how it may be different from the natural conditions that once prevailed. The way people intend to use land causes them to label some grasses desirable and others undesirable. In reality, each grass species fills a specific niche where it has adapted to the climate, soils, water, nutrients and land use of a particular environment.
There is widespread interest today in understanding the natural world around us. This website will introduce you to the amazing variety of grasses in Texas. Plants are arranged alphabetically by common name, with scientific names given for clarity and reference. When we can name the plants we see and know something about them, we gain even more appreciation for our environment.