Grasses are among the most familiar and important flowering
plants. They are used primarily as foodstuffs. Humans consume
grasses directly as CEREALS (eg, wheat, corn, barley, rye, oats)
or as sweetening (eg, sugar from sugar cane, molasses from
sorghum). Most meat and dairy products are derived from grass-
eating domesticated animals. Many wild animals are also grass
eaters. Grasses contribute to the aesthetic environment as turfs
gracing playing fields, golf courses and lawns, and as
ornamental garden grasses. They stabilize soil and prevent
erosion. Emergence of Grasslands Grasslands began to appear
about 25 million years ago, changing the face of much of the
world and providing food for grazing animals. Grasses and
grazers evolved together. Grasses benefit because grazers
control the growth of competing species and provide fertilizers.
Grasses owe their success largely to peculiarities of their
structure. They consist of vegetative structures (roots, stems
and leaves) and reproductive structures (flowers a