As we have been out in our yard enjoying outdoor play, exploration and gardening Holly has really noticed the different styles of wild grass. We are fortunate that we have a large yard with several open growth areas that really allow for nature to do its own thing... meaning we have a lot of wild grass on our property.
We collected several varieties this morning, some were wild and some were from plants we planted. We brought them inside and placed them all down onto a solid color sheet of paper to inspect them with a magnifying glass. Then we tried to find information online on identifying grass seed... that is hard! We did learn the various styles of seeds are classified into three types. The head of the seed stem is called a spikelet, the narrow kind are called a spike, the fluffy kinds are called a panicle and the tight narrow kind are called a raceme.
It was nice to compare them, draw them in our nature journal and inspecting them up close... identifying them proved pretty hard though, we will work on this some more!
It's amazing how hard identifying things in nature can be! It is fun to try, though.
ReplyDeleteWe have also found how difficult it can be to identify things! I can imagine how difficult grasses would be! Excellent learning experience, and I am certain you learned lots, even if you weren't completely successful with all of the identification :)
ReplyDeleteThat can be so difficult, I'm impressed at how hard you all worked at it!
ReplyDeleteI love your post, I am doing a nature study on native wild grass with my daughter, where did you find the pages about the parts of the grass, I would love a copy.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I'm trying to identify grasses here in Serbia as part of my Permaculture project and likewise struggling to do so. One excellent online resource is I spot, well worth checking out. All the best.
ReplyDeleteoops should have read ispot
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