What Grass Is This?

What Grass Is This?

Grass detective worksheet

Print one grass

Showing 6 common lawn grasses

Open the 3D atlas

Name

Date

Class

Grades 3 to 5

Part 1: Look at a real grass

3D model of Kentucky Bluegrass — The grass for this sheet

3D model of Tall Fescue — The grass for this sheet

3D model of Fine Fescue — The grass for this sheet

3D model of Perennial Ryegrass — The grass for this sheet

3D model of Annual Ryegrass — The grass for this sheet

3D model of Bermudagrass — The grass for this sheet

3D model of Kikuyugrass — The grass for this sheet

3D model of Zoysiagrass — The grass for this sheet

3D model of St. Augustinegrass — The grass for this sheet

3D model of Centipede Grass — The grass for this sheet

3D model of Bahiagrass — The grass for this sheet

3D model of Buffalograss — The grass for this sheet

Draw the blade tip

Draw the whole plant

The blade tip looks Circle one.
- Pointed
- Round
- Like a little boat
The blade is Circle one.
- Very thin
- Thin
- Medium
- Wide
Where the blade meets the stem, I see Circle all you see.
- A tiny flap (ligule)
- A row of tiny hairs
- Small side claws (auricles)
- Nothing
It spreads by Circle all you see.
- Staying in a clump
- Runners on top of the soil (stolons)
- Runners under the soil (rhizomes)
The seedhead looks like Circle one.
- A tiny tree
- One spike
- Fingers from one point
- A letter Y
- Small flags
- I can't find one

My guess:

What I noticed:

Why I think so:

Part 2: Fill in the clues

Open each grass in the 3D atlas. Write what you see.

Part 2: Fill in the clues
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Kentucky Bluegrass
Tall Fescue
Fine Fescue
Perennial Ryegrass
Annual Ryegrass
Bermudagrass
Kikuyugrass
Zoysiagrass
St. Augustinegrass
Centipede Grass
Bahiagrass
Buffalograss

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Kentucky Bluegrass
Tall Fescue

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Tall Fescue
Perennial Ryegrass

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Fine Fescue
Kentucky Bluegrass

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Perennial Ryegrass
Tall Fescue

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Annual Ryegrass
Perennial Ryegrass

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Bermudagrass
Kikuyugrass

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Kikuyugrass
Bermudagrass

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Zoysiagrass
Bermudagrass

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
St. Augustinegrass
Centipede Grass

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Centipede Grass
St. Augustinegrass

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Bahiagrass
Centipede Grass

One way to tell them apart:

Compare with a lookalike
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Buffalograss
Bermudagrass

One way to tell them apart:

Part 3: What does it do?

What does each part do for the plant? Use a clue from the 3D atlas.

Roots
Runners
Seedhead

Answer key

Answer key

Part 2 answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Kentucky Bluegrass	Cool season	Like a little boat	A tiny flap (ligule)	Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	A tiny tree
Tall Fescue	Cool season	Pointed	A tiny flap (ligule)	Staying in a clump (the 3D model also shows short runners under the soil)	A tiny tree
Fine Fescue	Cool season	Pointed (the 3D model shows a little boat)	A tiny flap (ligule)	Staying in a clump (the 3D model also shows short runners under the soil)	A tiny tree
Perennial Ryegrass	Cool season	Pointed (the 3D model shows a little boat)	A tiny flap (ligule), Small side claws (auricles)	Staying in a clump	One spike
Annual Ryegrass	Cool season	Pointed (the 3D model shows a little boat)	A tiny flap (ligule), Small side claws (auricles)	Staying in a clump	One spike
Bermudagrass	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons), Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	Fingers from one point
Kikuyugrass	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons), Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	I can't find one
Zoysiagrass	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons), Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	One spike
St. Augustinegrass	Warm season	Round	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons)	One spike
Centipede Grass	Warm season	Round	A tiny flap (ligule), A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons)	One spike
Bahiagrass	Warm season	Pointed	A tiny flap (ligule)	Staying in a clump, Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	A letter Y
Buffalograss	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons)	Small flags

The first clue to look for

Kentucky Bluegrass: Boat-shaped blade tip.
Tall Fescue: Wide blades with many lines.
Fine Fescue: Needle-thin blades.
Perennial Ryegrass: Shiny back of the blade.
Annual Ryegrass: Long claws hugging the stem.
Bermudagrass: Seedhead like bird toes.
Kikuyugrass: Thick runners on top of the soil.
Zoysiagrass: Stiff, prickly blades.
St. Augustinegrass: Very wide blades with round tips.
Centipede Grass: Low apple-green mat.
Bahiagrass: Seedhead shaped like a Y.
Buffalograss: Fine, curly gray-green blades.

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Kentucky Bluegrass	Cool season	Like a little boat	A tiny flap (ligule)	Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	A tiny tree
Tall Fescue	Cool season	Pointed	A tiny flap (ligule)	Staying in a clump (the 3D model also shows short runners under the soil)	A tiny tree

One way to tell them apart: Kentucky Bluegrass has a boat-shaped tip. Tall Fescue has a pointed tip.

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Tall Fescue	Cool season	Pointed	A tiny flap (ligule)	Staying in a clump (the 3D model also shows short runners under the soil)	A tiny tree
Perennial Ryegrass	Cool season	Pointed (the 3D model shows a little boat)	A tiny flap (ligule), Small side claws (auricles)	Staying in a clump	One spike

One way to tell them apart: Tall Fescue has a tiny flap at the collar. Perennial Ryegrass has a flap and small claws at the collar.

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Fine Fescue	Cool season	Pointed (the 3D model shows a little boat)	A tiny flap (ligule)	Staying in a clump (the 3D model also shows short runners under the soil)	A tiny tree
Kentucky Bluegrass	Cool season	Like a little boat	A tiny flap (ligule)	Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	A tiny tree

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Perennial Ryegrass	Cool season	Pointed (the 3D model shows a little boat)	A tiny flap (ligule), Small side claws (auricles)	Staying in a clump	One spike
Tall Fescue	Cool season	Pointed	A tiny flap (ligule)	Staying in a clump (the 3D model also shows short runners under the soil)	A tiny tree

One way to tell them apart: Perennial Ryegrass has a flap and small claws at the collar. Tall Fescue has a tiny flap at the collar.

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Annual Ryegrass	Cool season	Pointed (the 3D model shows a little boat)	A tiny flap (ligule), Small side claws (auricles)	Staying in a clump	One spike
Perennial Ryegrass	Cool season	Pointed (the 3D model shows a little boat)	A tiny flap (ligule), Small side claws (auricles)	Staying in a clump	One spike

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Bermudagrass	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons), Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	Fingers from one point
Kikuyugrass	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons), Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	I can't find one

One way to tell them apart: Bermudagrass has a seedhead with fingers. Kikuyugrass hides its flowers in the leaves.

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Kikuyugrass	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons), Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	I can't find one
Bermudagrass	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons), Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	Fingers from one point

One way to tell them apart: Kikuyugrass hides its flowers in the leaves. Bermudagrass has a seedhead with fingers.

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Zoysiagrass	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons), Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	One spike
Bermudagrass	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons), Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	Fingers from one point

One way to tell them apart: Zoysiagrass has a one-spike seedhead. Bermudagrass has a seedhead with fingers.

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
St. Augustinegrass	Warm season	Round	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons)	One spike
Centipede Grass	Warm season	Round	A tiny flap (ligule), A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons)	One spike

One way to tell them apart: St. Augustinegrass has tiny hairs at the collar. Centipede Grass has a flap and tiny hairs at the collar.

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Centipede Grass	Warm season	Round	A tiny flap (ligule), A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons)	One spike
St. Augustinegrass	Warm season	Round	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons)	One spike

One way to tell them apart: Centipede Grass has a flap and tiny hairs at the collar. St. Augustinegrass has tiny hairs at the collar.

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Bahiagrass	Warm season	Pointed	A tiny flap (ligule)	Staying in a clump, Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	A letter Y
Centipede Grass	Warm season	Round	A tiny flap (ligule), A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons)	One spike

One way to tell them apart: Bahiagrass has a pointed tip. Centipede Grass has a round tip.

Compare with a lookalike: answers
Grass	Season	Blade tip	Collar	How it spreads	Seedhead
Buffalograss	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons)	Small flags
Bermudagrass	Warm season	Pointed	A row of tiny hairs	Runners on top of the soil (stolons), Runners under the soil (rhizomes)	Fingers from one point

One way to tell them apart: Buffalograss has runners on top of the soil. Bermudagrass has runners on and under the soil.

Part 3 answers

Roots: Hold the plant in the soil and take in water.
Runners: Spread the grass to new ground.
Seedhead: Makes seeds for new plants.