Blade - the part of the leaf above the sheath
Bristle - a stiff, slender appendage
Bunchgrass - a grass without stolons or rhizomes; growth habit of forming a bunch
Cool-Season - growth begins in early spring, stops in the summer, and may regrow in the cool months of the fall. Generally exhibit the C3 photosynthetic pathway.
Creeping - spreading just under the surface of the soil
Culm - the jointed stem of a grass
Decreaser - range plants that decrease under heavy grazing
Glabrous - without hairs
Increaser - range plants which increase in number as the decreaser plants are weakened and die from heavy grazing
Inflorescence - the flowering part of a plant
Internode - the part of a stem between 2 successive nodes
Introduced - species which have been brought into North America
Invader - undesirable range plants which invade and take over a range after the decreasers and increasers are largely gone
Knotty - with a hardened mass at the base or nodes
Ligule - the appendage or ring of hairs on the inside of a leaf at the junction of the sheath and blade
Membranous - thin, like a membrane
Native - species which originated in North America
Nonpreferred - species that are not preferred by grazing animals and are relatively unpalatable to cattle
Palatable - desirable for grazing by livestock or wildlife
Perennial - lasting more than 2 years
Preferred - species that are preferred by grazing animals and are grazed by first choice
Pubescent - covered with hairs
Raceme - an inflorescence in which the spikelets are pedicelled on a rachis
Rhizome - an underground stem
Rhizomatous - having rhizomes
Sod-forming - a grass with stolons or rhizomes
Spike - an unbranched inflorescence in which the spikelets are sessile on a rachis
Spikelet - the unit of inflorescence in grasses consisting of 2 glumes and 1 or more florets
Stolon - an above ground modified reproductive stem
Stoloniferous - bearing stolons
Warm-season - growth begins in late spring, continues through summer, and stops in early fall