Sejarah Poaceae (Volume 2)

The Story of Grasses – Grasslands and Grassy Open Ecosystems

  • The Beauty of Grass Flowers #1

    The Beauty of Grass Flowers #1

    When people are asked to name some of the most beautiful flowers, it’s very unlikely that members of the Poaceae would be included in such lists. This is because grasses are wind pollinated, and thus there is no need to spend energy on elaborate and large floral structures that would attract pollinators. And yet when…

  • The Rebel Grassland Scientists of Madagascar

    The Rebel Grassland Scientists of Madagascar

    Note: Images from video by grasstube below. Awhile back we touched on grassland research in Madagascar, where entrenched colonial mindsets in the local government and populace has threatened the existence of extant grasslands in the country’s interior highlands and western parts. As in many tropical areas, people have the idea that grasslands are only secondary…

  • Panicoideae Pair: Giant Paspalum and Little Pogonatherum Parade their Pretty Posies

    Panicoideae Pair: Giant Paspalum and Little Pogonatherum Parade their Pretty Posies

    During the last week, I was lucky to find strong flowering in two separate but related grasses in the subfamily Panicoideae. I am quite familiar with Paspalum notatum, which is locally called Bahia Grass and is used as turf grass quite a bit in the community where I live. I am also aware of various…

  • Are bamboos trees, and are bamboo forests a type of grassland and not “forests”?

    Are bamboos trees, and are bamboo forests a type of grassland and not “forests”?

    Conclusion: Bamboos are not trees, and bamboo “forests” are not forests, but are a type of grassland. Globally, there are about 30 million ha of land that are marked as “bamboo forests” (Hu et al, 2018). This does not seem to include large areas where bamboo species are strongly dominant below taller woody trees as…

  • Temperate Bamboo’s War on Forest Trees

    Temperate Bamboo’s War on Forest Trees

    In a previous post we found out how Guadua tropical bamboos carve out their territories and spread against trees by physically damaging them using heavy water-filled culms. These tropical bamboos have pachymorph (or sympodial) rhizomes that are relatively short, and thus are so-called “clumping” types that only expand slowly. But in temperate areas, researchers found…

  • Hiding in Plain Sight: Natives at Wekiwa Springs State Park

    Hiding in Plain Sight: Natives at Wekiwa Springs State Park

    We did a long 12 km hike around Wekiwa Springs State Park last weekend, and I managed to observe some interesting native grasses in their early spring season gear. Wekiwa Springs State Park lies north of Orlando, and is visited by many who would like to bathe in the crystal clear waters of the natural…