Poaceae or Gramineae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and pasture. The latter are commonly referred to collectively as grass.
Eragrostis is a large and widespread genus of plants in the grass family, found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands.
The Antarctic flora is a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana. It is now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including southern South America, southernmost Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia. Joseph Dalton Hooker was the first to notice similarities in the flora and speculated that Antarctica had served as either a source or a transitional point, and that land masses now separated might formerly have been adjacent.
Xanthorrhoea is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants endemic to Australia. Species are known by the name grass tree.
The Xyridaceae are a family of flowering plants. The botanical name has been recognized by many taxonomists and is known as the yellow-eyed grass family.
Lolium is a genus of tufted grasses in the bluegrass subfamily of the grass family. It is often called ryegrass, but this term is sometimes used to refer to grasses in other genera.
Briza is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family, native to northern temperate regions of Eurasia, North Africa, and certain islands in the Atlantic.
Paspalum is a genus of plants in the grass family.
Panicum (panicgrass) is a large genus of about 450 species of grasses native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone. They are often large, annual or perennial grasses, growing to 1–3 m tall.
Cenchrus is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family. Its species are native to many countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.
Astrebla is a small genus of xerophytic grasses found only in Australia. They are the dominant grass across much of the continent. They are commonly known as Mitchell grass after Scottish explorer, Thomas Mitchell, who first collected a specimen near Bourke in New South Wales.
Spinifex is a genus of perennial coastal plants in the grass family.
Danthonia is a genus of Eurasian, North African, and American plants in the grass family. Members of this genus are sometimes referred to as oatgrass, but that common name is not restricted to this genus. Other common names include heathgrass and wallaby grass. Australian species have since been reclassified into the genera Austrodanthonia and Rytidosperma.
Austrostipa is a primarily Australian genus of plants in the grass family, commonly called speargrass.
Sporobolus is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name Sporobolus means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word σπόρος (spóros), meaning "seed", and the root of βάλλειν (bállein) "to throw", referring to the dispersion of seeds. Members of the genus are usually called dropseeds or sacaton grasses. They are typical prairie and savanna plants, occurring in other types of open habitat in warmer climates. At least one species is threatened with extinction, and another is extinct.
The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 20,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana, and below the family level has a highly endemic angiosperm flora whose diversity was shaped by the effects of continental drift and climate change since the Cretaceous. Prominent features of the Australian flora are adaptations to aridity and fire which include scleromorphy and serotiny. These adaptations are common in species from the large and well-known families Proteaceae (Banksia), Myrtaceae, and Fabaceae.
Avellinia is a genus of Mediterranean plants in the grass family. The only known species is Avellinia festucoides, found throughout much of the Mediterranean Region from Portugal and Morocco to Turkey. It is also reportedly naturalized in Australia.
Trisetum is a genus of plants in the grass family, widespread in temperate, subarctic, and alpine habitats in much of the world. Oatgrass is a common name for plants in this genus.
Paspalidium(watercrown grass) is a genus of tropical and subtropical plants in the grass family.
Notochloe is a genus of Australian plants in the grass family.
