Yes – Grass is a self-sustaining organism. If you need further explanation please read on.
If you are living in an urban city or town, it is quite likely that you may not have thought too much about the common grass.
This is because you may not have come across too many places where there is plentiful grass around.
However, if you are in some semi-urban areas or rural areas, you will be able to see vast stretches of green grass and in some cases it could run into miles as far as the eyes take you.
Even in the most urbanized environment, you will have small stretches, lawns and backyards, where you will have tufts of grass. At times, even the busiest of people may have some doubts about the various things that makes grass grown.
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Why Do People Say The Grass Is Always Greener on The Other Side?
There could be a few people who may start drawing comparisons between the grass in your backyard and the grass that grows in your neighbors’ home.
You may at times wonder why the grass is literally greener on the other side. You could perhaps feel that the grass in your home is brown in colors and it is perhaps even overwhelmed by grass.
You may be keen on knowing the right answer to the question as to what makes grass perfect. Further you also may be keen on knowing a few more things about the anatomy of a grass.
To understand this and also to answer the question if each blade of grass is an individual organism, we need to have a basic understanding about grass.
What Is Grass and How Is It Useful To Us?
Before getting into the complex world of lawn care, let us get started by understanding some basics.
What exactly is grass?
Grass belongs to the Gramineae family of plants. There are around 9,000 known species of grass and there could be many more that exists but we may not be aware of the same.
The family of grass is considered to be the largest group of plants on planet earth. Though we do not spend too much time knowing about it, there is no denying the fact that grass is extremely important to us.
It is a major source of food. It would be pertinent to mention here that oats, corn, rice and wheat all belong to the family of grass plants.
We all know that most livestock depend heavily on grass for their food and nutrition. Many of us may not be aware that bamboo also belongs to the grass family and it is used for construction purposes.
Grass, wherever it is grown, also plays a big role in helping fight erosion of soil. Grass also comes in handy for making liquor, sugar, plastic and bread, amongst other things.
The Structure of Grass Blades or Stems
The best thing about grass is that it has a very simple structure. It also has a simple way of life.
We will understand the basics as far as the structure of grass is concerned and then try to find the right answer to the question as to whether each blade of grass is an individual organism.
The base of the grass plant, you will find roots. As with other plants, the roots grow down into the earth. We also should understand that grass roots are fibrous or they resemble threadlike structures.
They grow deep into the soil like fingers. Their main job is to collect nutrients, and also soak up enough water so that the plant stays firm and secure to the ground.
Grass stems are also referred to as culms. They grow from the base of the plant, which also is known as the crown. The culms are rigid and hollow in most species of grass, except perhaps the nodes.
Nodes are the joints that connect the various stem segments together. Grass also has narrow leaves that extend and grow out from the culms.
The leaves grow in an alternate direction. If the first leaf from the culm grows to the left, the second one will grow to the right and they will alternate in these directions.
The lower part of the grass leaf is referred to as the sheath and the upper part is referred to as the blade. The connection between the blade and the sheath is completed by a growth called ligule.
Ligules come in the form of hair-like projections or as thin membranes.
Are all Blades of Grass Individual Organisms?
To begin with, we have to understand that there are more than 9,000 species of grass about which we have made a mention above.
Even tall trees like bamboo are part of the grass family. There are many other plants that resemble grass and they include rushes and sedges.
However, we need to bear in mind these are not grass in the true sense of the term though they may look almost like a grass plant.
The grass that grows on your lawn for sure is not a single part of an entire organism. This is because of a number of reasons.
Each grass plant comes with a number of mini-structures like the root, stem, blade, sheath and ligule.
We have talked about each of these in some detail above. In fact, if you look at the grass that grows in your home, in your backyard or your garden, you will find that it comes with leaves that grow from the blades.
You also will see young plants that are referred to as the daughter plants. They are clones of the mother plant but have the same structure as it is found in other grass plants that belong to the same species.
Hence, it is quite clear from the above that each blade of grass is just a part of a larger plant. In fact, in many cases, you may not be able to see the entire plant and therefore for all you know the blade may not be a part of the plant.
It could be a true grass growing independently on its own.
What You Need to Know About Grass Stems
It is therefore quite obvious and quite clear that the grass plant contains different organisms and is never part of the same structure.
Though it grows from the root, stem and branches out as leaves and blades, each one of them is a separate structure and a separate organism.
Each of these organisms have separate functions.
The reason for this confusion could perhaps be because of the fact that grass plants that we see in our backyards and garden are small and at best they grow to a few inches.
Hence, we may wrongly believe that they are a part of the same organism which they are not.
