Why doesn grass grow tall like trees?
All shoots comprise the following six parts: blade, sheath, axillary bud, node (joint), internode, and ligule (figure1). Some of these parts, such as the blade, node, and more often the ligule, are used to identify grasses when more readily identifiable parts such as the seed head are absent. Grasses also have several key growth points. The main growth point is in the crown of the plant (plant base) in the beginning of the growing season. When grasses begin developing stems, this growth point is elevated and eventually develops into a seed head. Therefore, the primary function of the main growth point is to manufacture shoots and eventually seed. All shoots originating from one main growth point are collectively called a tiller. Grasses also have what we’ll call secondary growth points at each node (or joint) and at the base of each leaf blade. These growth points are responsible for leaf, sheath, and stem growth (figure 2). Axillary buds (figure 1), which are located at the base of ea
Grass does not have the ‘programming’ to grow that tall, it lacks the wood cell structures that would allow it to grow to such a height without falling over. We are a product of our genetic code for most of our physical appearance. This is the reason a baby Giraffe does not say grow to be a zebra.
