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Taxa

Poaceae

Plant Families

Poaceae, also called Gramineae and commonly known as the true grasses, is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants that includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, and the grasses of natural grassland and cultivated lawns and pasture. The family contains around 780 genera and about 12,000 species, making it the fifth largest plant family and the most economically important, providing staple foods including maize, wheat, rice, oats, barley and millet; grasslands make up 40.5 percent of Earth's land area excluding Greenland and Antarctica.

Facts
Taxonomic Rank
Family 1
Scientific Name
Poaceae 1
Member Species/Taxa Count
12,000 1
Geographic Distribution
Nearly ubiquitous worldwide; grasslands such as savannah and prairie, where grasses are dominant, are estimated to cover 40.5 percent of the land area of Earth, excluding Greenland and Antarctica. 1
Defining Characteristics
Poaceae includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland, and species cultivated in lawns and pasture. 1
Identification
Distinguishing Appearance
Grass stems, called culms, are usually cylindrical and hollow, plugged at the nodes where the leaves attach. 1
Classification
Living or Extinct
Yes 2
Connections

Parent Taxon Of

Dendrocalamus giganteus, Species
Source Wikidata: Giant Bamboo
Giant Bamboo, Species
Source Wikidata: Giant Bamboo
Maize (Zea mays), Species
Source Maize (Wikidata)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Antarctica

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Poaceae (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lead section, second paragraph, first sentence
    With around 780 genera and around 12,000 species, the Poaceae is the fifth-largest plant family, following the Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Fabaceae and Rubiaceae.
  • Lead section, grassland-extent sentence
    Grasslands such as savannah and prairie where grasses are dominant are estimated to constitute 40.5% of the land area of the Earth, excluding Greenland and Antarctica.
  • Lead section, second sentence
    It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and pasture.
  • Description section, first sentence
    The stems of grasses, called culms, are usually cylindrical (more rarely flattened, but not 3-angled) and are hollow, plugged at the nodes, where the leaves are attached.
  • In Group: Monocot Families, Lead
    Poaceae ( poh-AY-see-e(y)e), also called Gramineae ( grÉ™-MIN-ee-e(y)e), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as true grasses.
View the Source
2. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ43238, descriptionView the Source
Wikidata: Poaceae
Wikidata Q43238, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Wikidata: Giant Bamboo
Wikidata
  • Parent Taxon Of: Giant Bamboo, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
  • Parent Taxon Of: Dendrocalamus giganteus, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
View the Source
Maize (Wikidata)
WikidataParent Taxon Of: Maize (Zea mays), Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chainView the Source
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