What all grasses do we eat?« Back to Questions List

Grass does not just provide food for animals; it provides food for humans too. Most of our staple food comes from grasses. While some grow on dry land, others grow on wet lands.

Not many are aware that grasses have flowers and these flowers help botanists identify the type of grass. In many grasses the flowers may be pollinated themselves. One good example is wheat which is also a grass. At the appropriate time of the year, each grass plant bears numerous small flowers (which could be seen may be with lens). These flowers may even look like feathers.

Like wheat, cereals like rice, corn, rye, oats, barley, millet and sorghum are grass varieties too. The seeds of these grasses are the major items in the human diet. Some of them may also be fed to livestock and poultry as well. They also supply products as diverse as starch, sugar, syrup, adhesives and alcohol.

Wheat, barley, rye and wild rice are all annual grasses which mean they live only one year and depending on the seeds for the next year’s growth. Rice is started in a special plot, and then transported to a flooded field when the seedlings are four or five inches tall.
Sugar is produced from sugarcane which is a giant reed like tropical grass. Sugarcane grows 10-24 feet tall with long, blade like leaves. Corn is used for all sorts of food products. Wheat is used for flour to make bread and cake. Rice is a major food and eaten all around the world. Rye is mixed with wheat to make heavy flour which is used for making bread.

Are bananas growing on trees?

Do almonds belong to the family of roses?