Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Infl
orescence
Leaf blade
Node
Sheath
Stolon
New plant
Crown
Rhizome
Fig. 1.7. Essential parts of the grass plant. (Drawing by R. Castro.)
crown is the most vital part of the grass plant. As long as the crown is
alive, even profoundly injured plants may survive. Serious injury to the
crown usually results in death of the plant. For example, excessively low
mowing height may result in massive destruction of crowns and, as a
consequence, major losses of turf. Some diseases and insects attack the
crown, also causing severe damage to turf.
When new stems, usually growing from buds in the crown area,
grow laterally and extend roots of their own into the soil, they can
develop into new plants and survive independently if severed from the
parent plant. These primary lateral shoots are called
tillers
. Tillers are
typical of all turf-grass species. In addition to tillers, some species de-
velop underground lateral stems called
rhizomes
(Fig. 1.9), and others
produce above-ground lateral stems called
stolons
(Fig. 1.10). Some spe-
cies develop both rhizomes and stolons. The majority of turf-grasses grown
in warm climates are rhizomatous (rhizome-bearing) or stoloniferous
